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Rashomon - Criterion Collection




  • Rashomon - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) Sometime during the 12th century in Japan , three men , a woodcutter , a commoner and a priest , find themselves under the ruin of the Rashomon as they seek shelter from the heavy rain . As they wait for a break in the weather , they discuss the trial of the bandit Tajomaru , accused of killing the samurai Takehiro after having raped his wife . But was it what truely happened ? The more we listen to the witnesses , the further we seem to drift away from the truth . . . . As I read reviews here and there , I quickly realized that there were basically two sides : the enthusiasts ( the majority ) , some of which almost implying that there just can't be anything to complain about since this movie is widely considered as one of the most important in cinema history . And then there are those who are quick to argue that this movie is overrated , even boring . So , are the former just name-droppers in select parties , hoping to pass for the artsy-witsy type ? Or are the latter either ignorant or trying to be hipper than hip by going against the greater number's judgement ? I think the main issue here is that those two sides just aren't talking about the same aspects of the movie . If there's one thing that's undeniable about Rashomon , the movie that truely revealed its director to the world , earning him a Golden Lion in 1951 at the Venice Film Festial and a honorary award at the Oscars , is that at the time of its release , this movie broke grounds both technically and in terms of story-telling . Maybe the most famous of those technical innovations is the pointing of the camera directly at the sun : to us now , it may comes as completely anticlimatic , but this was breaking one of the biggest taboos at the time But maybe the one aspect of this movie that immediatly impressed the most was the storytelling , this presentation of several perceptions on what happened that fateful day , leading us only to accept in the end that the factual truth , because we couldn't experience the events first hand but only through the eyes of the various witnesses who all played a part in them , is forever lost to us . Such use of subjectivity to present a singular fact to the audience , therefore shaking their confidence in what they have actually seen , continues to this day to influence movies . Surely , if Rashomon hadn't been made , another director would have done just the same , but the first happens to be Kurosawa , and whatever one's appreciation of this movie is , the fact remains that , for those reasons alone , it deserves our utmost respect But does it deserve our love ? Now that's the hard one . It is certainly not an emotionally engaging movie : you're never really brought to care for the characters , which is probably the one reason why I couldn't give it 5 stars , no matter how much of a piece of history that movie is : I just need to emotionally connect with a movie at some level to be fully engrossed in it , and Rashomon just doesn't do that for me . However , it definitely is an intellectually engaging movie , and relatively short . The multiple layers in the visual , the acting , the philosophical statements all almost make up completely for it , and it ends before the lack of emotional ties leads you to lose interest in the story Also , if you are after a Kurosawa movie which will entertain you from the word go , you would be far better off watching Seven Samurai or even The Hidden Fortress . Rashomon lacks this fun factor - on the surface : dwelve on it some and the irony of the woodcutter's second tale , between Tajomaru's child-like glances and the swordfight's parody , which come in direct contrast with the others ' tales , and in particular Tajomaru's own , can definitely qualify as funny , although it is much more likely to bring a soft chuckle rather than an outright loud laugh out of you You may be put off by other details : the lack of dialogues for one . I would however argue that more dialogues wouldn't have been necessary , nor would they have shed anymore light on the case . What the director wants us to know without being put into words transpires through clever camera work , precise use of space and of the elements the environment provides ( weather conditions , light , shadows of the foliage , etc ) . What may also grate on your nerves is what may pass as overacting ( in particular in Mifune's and Machiko Kyo's cases ) : that being said , for one , acting standards in Japan are slightly different from those in the West . What I mean by that is that what they consider good acting may often be considered as unnatural and overacting by us . There's also another explanation : we aren't witnessing the facts as they actually happened . In a sense , the characters involved in this deadly affair are all , as they testify , performing , hoping to convincingly present the events in a way that will best serve their interests and , in the words of the others , they are but mere puppets who are made acting to suit their needs . No wonder therefore that a sense of surreality permeates these performances Another point that may be annoying is the lack of resolution : sure , the image the woodcutter walking away with the baby under sun that is at last shining forth provides for a hopeful note . But the movie , through the camera angle during the testimony scenes at the court , puts you in the position of the judge , of the person who is there to seek out the truth . Yet you are forced to admit in the end that you'll never find it But then the next question should be : do we need to know ? Tajomaru , whatever the role he played , has , from what we are told , killed other women already : even if his role in this affair remains unclear , his fate , now that he is in the hands of justice , shouldn't . The samurai's wife , whether she has encouraged this violent act or not , will live a life of shame , a fate maybe worse than death . The samurai will cannot be brought back to life anyway . As for the woodcutter , even if he has taken the dagger to resale it , his generosity towards the child certainly more than redeems the theft Interestingly enough , Kurosawa , it seems , never thought of Rashomon as of one of his best movies . And as for myself , I tend to agree with that statement , if only because it isn't too engaging on an emotional level . Still , Rashomon remains a movie that should be watched by any aspiring film-maker as well as any person more or less interested in the art of film-making in general . But I would also definitely recommend it to anyone not afraid of rather depressing yet tinted with hope , philosophical statements , and willing to spend the necessary time to reflect on it afterwards and possibly treat themselves to more than one viewing A last word on the DVD itself : I've only watched the Criterion Collection edition of this movie , and I don't think I'll ever need another one . The restored transfer's quality is absolutely superb , even though I am tempted to say that the image faired better than the sound . The translation , from what little I can judge , is adequate ; I have , however , only listened to the English dubbing for a hanful of scenes , so I can't say much , apart that it seemed terribly out of sync sometimes . The extras are all insightful , be it Robert Altman's introduction , the documentary extract on Kazuo Miyagawa , the cinematographer , or the audio commentary by Donald Richie . Also , the booklet that accompanies the single disc contains the two short stories on which the script was based , which is a most welcome addition
    • 001 4  This review is from : Rashomon - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) If you have never seen this film , you will come to it and find it very familiar . That's because Rashomon has become part of the world's consciousness & lexicon . It's story of an action involving several participants , each with their own differing version of the truth , has been elaborated and riffed-on by many others since it appeared on the world's stage in the 50 ' s . So , it is an old movie , often imitated . And yet , I found it fresh and involving and well worth a look . As Robert Altman says on the DVD extras , many of the camera techniques , particularly shooting directly at the sun and allowing lens flare , were taboo-breaking and radically new when this film appeared . Now , that is put in as a joke in Shrek . So you come to Rashomon not to be overwhelmed with its newness and the refreshing change of first encountering Japanese cinema and acting styles . No , you come to Rashomon as to an old master , to appreciate its lasting impression of the universality of human foibles and passions and the illusory nature of truth . A rape and murder have occured in a woods . We hear and see different versions of the same encounter . Who is telling the truth ? Is there an absolute objective truth , or does every teller of the tale inherently only tell the truth as he sees it ? And if everyone is a liar and there is no absolute truth , what is the point of anything ? Don't let the heavy questions mislead you . Rashomon moves quickly , fluidly and gracefully , telling its story with economy and , to me , humor . Much is made of the dark philosophy underneath the theme , but I find great sardonic humor in the film . One example , the fight between the thief & the man as related by the woodcutter . . . it is messy and unheroic , sweaty , breathless and awkward and the antithesis of the stylized balletic sword fights found in , even Kurosawa's , samurai movies . In the end , as familiar and much copied as Rashomon has been , it is still like no other film . It is unique , and the result of a master filmaker's vision , unified and beautiful and unforgettable .
    • 002 4  If you have never seen this film , you will come to it and find it very familiar . That's because Rashomon has become part of the world's consciousness & lexicon . It's story of an action involving several participants , each with their own differing version of the truth , has been elaborated and riffed-on by many others since it appeared on the world's stage in the 50 ' s . So , it is an old movie , often imitated . And yet , I found it fresh and involving and well worth a look . As Robert Altman says on the DVD extras , many of the camera techniques , particularly shooting directly at the sun and allowing lens flare , were taboo-breaking and radically new when this film appeared . Now , that is put in as a joke in Shrek . So you come to Rashomon not to be overwhelmed with its newness and the refreshing change of first encountering Japanese cinema and acting styles . No , you come to Rashomon as to an old master , to appreciate its lasting impression of the universality of human foibles and passions and the illusory nature of truth . A rape and murder have occured in a woods . We hear and see different versions of the same encounter . Who is telling the truth ? Is there an absolute objective truth , or does every teller of the tale inherently only tell the truth as he sees it ? And if everyone is a liar and there is no absolute truth , what is the point of anything ? Don't let the heavy questions mislead you . Rashomon moves quickly , fluidly and gracefully , telling its story with economy and , to me , humor . Much is made of the dark philosophy underneath the theme , but I find great sardonic humor in the film . One example , the fight between the thief & the man as related by the woodcutter . . . it is messy and unheroic , sweaty , breathless and awkward and the antithesis of the stylized balletic sword fights found in , even Kurosawa's , samurai movies . In the end , as familiar and much copied as Rashomon has been , it is still like no other film . It is unique , and the result of a master filmaker's vision , unified and beautiful and unforgettable .
    • 004 4  This review is from : Rashomon - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) Somewhat curiously , Japanese critics were not enthusiastic about RASHOMON when it was released in 1950 Japan . Today , however , RASHOMON is generally considered to be the film that introduced both master director Akira Kurosawa and Japanese cinema to the west ; it is also often cited as the film that prompted The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to create an award for Best Foreign Language film . It is widely regarded as a masterwork of world cinema . Set in 12th Century Japan , the film's premise is at once both very simple and very complex . A man is found dead in a forrest , and several people are brought forward to give testimony in the matter . In some respects their accounts agree - - but in numerous others , some obvious and some very subtle , their stories differ . As each character gives his or her version of events , the various differences pile higher and higher , leaving the viewer to wonder at the motivations involved . Has each person simply interpreted the same facts in different ways ? Do they deliberately lie in order to protect themselves ? Are the differences in their stories deliberate or subconcious ? The film offers no easy answers . Some have criticized the film for seeming to state that there is no such thing as ultimate truth , but RASHOMON is more complex than this : it is essentially a meditation on our inability , be it deliberate or unintentional , to reach more than an approximation of ultimate truth due to the very nature of humanity itself . Much has been written about the look of the film , which is indeed memorable . Filmed by Kazuo Miyagawa , it presents the forrest as a living , breathing entity ; the images are powerful , the editing remarkable . No less so are the performances , which require the various actors to shift in behavior as each person involved gives their own account of the event ; this is particularly true of Toshiro Mifune , a frequent performer in Kurosawa films , and actress Machiko Ky  . But whether lead or supporting player , all performaces are equally astonishing . The film has been extremely , extremely influential over the years , and as such it no longer has quite the same shock of the new that it had for audiences of the 1950s ; nonetheless , this is director Kurosawa working very close to the height of his power , and while he would create other films that equalled and bested RASHOMON , it remains among his masterworks . The Criterion edition is quite fine , offering a near-pristine print with your choice of subtitles or dubbing ( the former is recommended ) and several memorable extras . Strongly recommended for fans of world cinema . GFT , Amazon Reviewer
    • 005 4  Somewhat curiously , Japanese critics were not enthusiastic about RASHOMON when it was released in 1950 Japan . Today , however , RASHOMON is generally considered to be the film that introduced both master director Akira Kurosawa and Japanese cinema to the west ; it is also often cited as the film that prompted The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to create an award for Best Foreign Language film . It is widely regarded as a masterwork of world cinema . Set in 12th Century Japan , the film's premise is at once both very simple and very complex . A man is found dead in a forrest , and several people are brought forward to give testimony in the matter . In some respects their accounts agree - - but in numerous others , some obvious and some very subtle , their stories differ . As each character gives his or her version of events , the various differences pile higher and higher , leaving the viewer to wonder at the motivations involved . Has each person simply interpreted the same facts in different ways ? Do they deliberately lie in order to protect themselves ? Are the differences in their stories deliberate or subconcious ? The film offers no easy answers . Some have criticized the film for seeming to state that there is no such thing as ultimate truth , but RASHOMON is more complex than this : it is essentially a meditation on our inability , be it deliberate or unintentional , to reach more than an approximation of ultimate truth due to the very nature of humanity itself . Much has been written about the look of the film , which is indeed memorable . Filmed by Kazuo Miyagawa , it presents the forrest as a living , breathing entity ; the images are powerful , the editing remarkable . No less so are the performances , which require the various actors to shift in behavior as each person involved gives their own account of the event ; this is particularly true of Toshiro Mifune , a frequent performer in Kurosawa films , and actress Machiko Ky  . But whether lead or supporting player , all performaces are equally astonishing . The film has been extremely , extremely influential over the years , and as such it no longer has quite the same shock of the new that it had for audiences of the 1950s ; nonetheless , this is director Kurosawa working very close to the height of his power , and while he would create other films that equalled and bested RASHOMON , it remains among his masterworks . The Criterion edition is quite fine , offering a near-pristine print with your choice of subtitles or dubbing ( the former is recommended ) and several memorable extras . Strongly recommended for fans of world cinema . GFT , Amazon Reviewer
    • 006 4  The first time this movie told its story , I sat there almost bored , but the second time my interest was perked , and by the fourth time , I was mesmerized . Confused ? This movie has that tendency . It's basic hook is that 4 people tell very different versions of the same story , and each time you hear it , your faith in reality is shaken just a little bit . Even in the end , you won't know left from right , but you'll probably have a grin from ear to ear . Rashamon is a masterpiece because of the utter ease in which all this flows . This movie often made me wonder just how on earth it was conceived and created in the first place . The audience is effortlessly introduced to the story as if it were an after-thought , just some gossip between peasants . A noble samurai and his loving wife are attacked by a ruthless bandit on the highway . The samurai is tortured and killed , and the wife raped . Or is that really what happened ? The wild bandit gives a very different version of the story , and then , amazingly enough , the dead samurai speaks through a medium and tells HIS version . After all three witnesses speak , you don't know who is the villian and who is the hero . And yet , amazingly enough , the movie digs deeper , and one of the peasants tells HIS version of the story , as he witnessed it from behind a bush . As I sat watching this final telling in utter disbelief , I suddenly thought : I have just watched the same thing 4 times in a row , and never once was bored ! Of course , Toshiro Mifune gives a typically outstanding performance , yet this film is all about Kurosawa , the master director working behind the scenes . Every shot and edit is in perfect place , nothing the director does undercuts his actors or his story . There are no harsh angles like in Kubrick , or sappy endings from Spielberg . Even the strong , general themes from directors like Ford are muted to serve the movie as a whole , complete story . And what a story it is . . .
    • 007 4  With great action and memorable characters , Akira Kurosawa's RASHOMON is perhaps the first and probably the best film ever to investigate the philosophy of truth and justice and the inherent conflict with our fallibly subjective attempts to be objective . Is this the first film to fully embrace relativism ? Certainly somewhat existential and post modern in its central conceit , this exceptionally absorbing drama still resonates with a timely and provocative tale of the illusive nature of so-called Truth . Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks , Kurosawa reveals the seemingly paradoxical complexities of human nature as four people - - all witnesses to one degree or another - - recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife . Toshiro Mifune gives another commanding performance in this eloquent masterwork that secured his international stardom . With a restored image and sound , this classic revolutionized film language and introduced Japanese cinema to a global audience . Loaded with extras , including a video introduction by Robert Altman and a brilliant commentary by Japanese film historian Donald Richie . Excerpts are also included from The World of Kazuo Miyagawa , a documentary about Rashomon's incredible cinematographer . Even in the pantheon of our greatest filmmakers , Kurosawa stands apart as an intellectual and an artist . His best films have a shimmering beauty and a visceral impact while also engaging the mind . A rare feat . This 1950 masterpiece is an essential element of any serious digital library .
    • 008 4  Rashomon was a film I seriously never heard about until I took a film class at my College a few years back . Boy was I surprised how well this popular movie was shot , the camera trickery through the woods is spectacular , I love how the sun blazes and blinds the camera in certain shots . There are five different points of view throughtout the film and I think the last take on what really happened to the young married couple is the probably the truth and the best story of Rashomon . Of course this film is foreign so don't forget to set the subtitles on your DVD player . A fabulous and etertaining DVD , don't skip this one . Enjoy !
    • 010 4  Rashomon ( 1950 ; directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune ) is one of those films that the truly hip have seen , and not many others ; rather like certain books - - On the Road , The Satanic Verses , One Hundred Years of Solitude , Naked Lunch - - it has a certain hip cache , being one that cineastes have all seen and can discuss in great detail . Name-droppers know they need only mention the name in a knowledgeable context to be viewed with awe . In truth , however , Rashomon is the sort of film that everyone should see ; it's a true classic , in a league with Casablanca , Citizen Kane and others . The film examines truth , in the context of a rape and murder in 12th Century Japan , from four different perspectives ; a woodcutter who witnessed the whole incident yet was afraid to report it , the bandit who committed the crime , the murdered man's ghost ( through a medium ) and the rape victim ( the murdered man's wife ) . There are a few elements which remain constant from each version of the story - - that the murdered man was tied up and forced to watch the bandit ravish his wife , and that he did indeed die - - but how he died varies . It was either a swordfight with the bandit , at his wife's hand with a dagger , or suicide resulting from his being absolutely crushed by his wife choosing to leave with the bandit . Did she demand his death ? Did he look at her with scorn after the crime ? Was she really raped or did she yield consensually to the bandit ? Honesty is also explored in detail , with the wife's honesty being most in question , but also with the three men sheltering from a rainstorm at the ruined gate of Rashomon who relate the story between themselves . This was one of the late Toshiro Mifune's ( 1920 - 1997 ) first collaborations with Akira Kurosawa , and his criminally-insane Tajomaru is masterfully acted . So effective is Mifune's acting that you truly loathe Tajomaru ; you're torn between pity and disgust for the wife ( Masahiko Kyo , also a brilliant actress ) , and there are truly few really sympathetic characters among the cast here . The camera work is exemplary , shows what Kurosawa was best known for - - unusual perspectives in some truly arresting shots , proving that his eye for detail was as sharp in black and white as it would later be in colour ( cf . Dersu Uzala , Kagemusha , and Ran , 3 latter-day Kurosawa masterpieces ) . Absolutely worth seeing , and proof of the saying that there are three sides to every story ( to wit : mine , yours , and what really happened ) - - but also proving that what really happened isn't even ever certain .
    • 011 4  This review is from : Rashomon - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) Although it might seem like an odd starting point , the first time I heard of Kurosawa's Rashomon was when I read Iris Chang's Rape of Nanking for the first time a few years ago . Within this book she alluded to the film because of the various stories detailing the atrocities committed in Nanking differed greatly depending on the source of information . Anyway , a couple of years after that I read Akutagawa Ryuunosuke's short story Rashomon and noticed that it really did not fit Chang's brief description of the movie and it was not until I read a later short story in the collection , In the Grove , did I find the actual short story the film was based on . The film Rashomon was Western film audiences ' first real exposure to the films of Kurosawa Akira and it ignited the flame of interest in Kurosawa's films for decades to come . And with good reason , because Rashomon is truly an excellent film and it still tops best films ever made lists constantly . During a terrible rainfall three men , a priest , a woodcutter , and a bandit , duck into the ruins of the Rashomon gate to escape the massive downpour . The priest and the woodcutter have just returned from a court case detailing the murder of a samurai by the bandit Tajomaru . Listening to Tajomaru's testimony it seems like a pretty cut and dry case . He wanted the samurai's wife for his own and after raping her he killed her husband as she asked him to do . However , after listening to the wife's story and even the dead husband's story through a medium , it is hard to say what the truth . . . is The old saying goes History is written by the victors and Rashomon definitely displays not only how different people view the same events , but how lies thread their way into the truth and corrupt it . Kurosawa depicts the scene with the samurai , his wife , and the bandit Tajomaru four times within the film's 88 minutes , and the resulting juxtaposition is quite enjoyable .
    • 012 4  Although it might seem like an odd starting point , the first time I heard of Kurosawa's Rashomon was when I read Iris Chang's Rape of Nanking for the first time a few years ago . Within this book she alluded to the film because of the various stories detailing the atrocities committed in Nanking differed greatly depending on the source of information . Anyway , a couple of years after that I read Akutagawa Ryuunosuke's short story Rashomon and noticed that it really did not fit Chang's brief description of the movie and it was not until I read a later short story in the collection , In the Grove , did I find the actual short story the film was based on . The film Rashomon was Western film audiences ' first real exposure to the films of Kurosawa Akira and it ignited the flame of interest in Kurosawa's films for decades to come . And with good reason , because Rashomon is truly an excellent film and it still tops best films ever made lists constantly . During a terrible rainfall three men , a priest , a woodcutter , and a bandit , duck into the ruins of the Rashomon gate to escape the massive downpour . The priest and the woodcutter have just returned from a court case detailing the murder of a samurai by the bandit Tajomaru . Listening to Tajomaru's testimony it seems like a pretty cut and dry case . He wanted the samurai's wife for his own and after raping her he killed her husband as she asked him to do . However , after listening to the wife's story and even the dead husband's story through a medium , it is hard to say what the truth . . . is The old saying goes History is written by the victors and Rashomon definitely displays not only how different people view the same events , but how lies thread their way into the truth and corrupt it . Kurosawa depicts the scene with the samurai , his wife , and the bandit Tajomaru four times within the film's 88 minutes , and the resulting juxtaposition is quite enjoyable .
    • 013 4  Kurosawa meets World ; World loves Kurosawa . * Rashomon * , the director's first major picture to find wide release , is typically brilliant and innovative . If its central conceit - - 4 different perspectives on 1 incident - - doesn't seem all that new , well , it WAS new in 1950 . People were blown away by this , having never seen anything like it before ( the movie won all sorts of prizes and Oscars ) . This grim parable is set in 11th century feudal Japan , involving the rape of a woman and the murder of her husband in an empty grove in a forest . The rape and murder is told and re-told , with wildly varying details , by the principals - - the Bandit , the Woman , and her dead Husband's Spirit - - as well as by an ancillary witness , The Woodcutter , who stumbles upon the scene after the fact . As the commentator on this Criterion edition says , all the stories are true and none of them are true . The theme of the movie is the relativism of memory , incident , and experience . ( Alain Resnais must have been heavily influenced by this particular film . ) As justly famous as * Rashomon * is , I still feel that it's not quite a masterpiece , and certainly not up to Kurosawa's later standards : first of all , he has the actors , especially the Bandit and the Woman overact terribly . . . but in extenuation of the performances , it must be said that this style of acting was apparently a tradition in Japanese cinema . Mifune as the Bandit suffers the most - - Kurosawa has the poor guy behave like a rabid gibbon . ( One half-expects him to climb a tree . ) Secondly , the torrential downpour during the framing segments wherein the secondary characters are telling the story of the murder and rape is way over-the-top . It looks like the spray of several giant firehoses pointed skyward off-camera - - which is exactly what it is . Finally , there are too many pauses in the film , too much stretching-out time between action , which might make some viewers itchy from boredom . ( Not much excuse for this , considering the tightness of the story's ingenious construction . ) Well , obviously I'm picking nits . Though I feel * Rashomon * doesn't quite equal the director's later masterpieces ( * Ikiru * , * Seven Samurai * , * The Hidden Fortress * , etc . etc . etc . for the next couple decades ) , this is still a massively influential movie - - a GREAT movie , an absolute necessity for Kurosawa devotees . By the way , it was re-made in America several years later : called * The Outrage * , it featured Paul Newman , absurdly made-up as a Mexican , in the Bandit role . [ The best features on Criterion's DVD are the booklets inside : the complete short stories on which Kurosawa based his film . Outstanding . ]
    • 014 4  Criterion deserves praise for it's presentation of Kurosawa's Rashomon . Kazuo Miyagawa's cinematography is incredible in it's use of camera movement , light , shadows , rain and wind effects . I enjoyed the bonus excerpts from Miyagawa's documentary . I was intrigued by the film's approach of story telling from 4 difference sources i.e . the Woodcuter ( Takashi Shimura ) , the Bandit ( Toshiro Mifune ) , the raped Wife ( Machiko Kyo ) , and the dead Husband ( Masayuki Mori ) told thru a Medium . The viewer must play detective to piece together the truth of what has taken place . We learn from Rashomon is that we all have our own personal vision of reality . In this study of human nature , the characters see what they want to believe . Donald Richie's expert commentary was essential in understaning the film's structure . Richie discusses the films use of visual triangles in portraying the three main characters ( Mifune , Kyo , & Mori ) . It's a must-see film for anyone that appreciates great art .
    • 015 4  . . . I mostly wanted to add another viewer type that may enjoy the movie : students of history . I first saw Rashomon in an upper-level history class required to graduate . The reason for showing this particular movie makes sense when you think about it ; the viewer and the court in the movie have to do exactly what historians do all the time . An incident occurs - in this case , a murder . When speaking to four different witness , you'll hear four different accounts . ( It's interesting , too , that even a dead man has his own view and not some omnipotent third-person perspective gained from his switch in planes of existence . ) Though this is pretty obvious when you think of criminal investigations , people rarely think of this when many , many years have passed . We start to believe that anything written way-back-when is the gospel truth , but when you're lucky enough to find a record of an event , it will be tainted by the same points of view as are depicted in the movie . My favorite case-in-point : watch the way the bandit and the man fight when described by one of them compared to the way the peasant sees it ! It's worth a giggle .
    • 016 4  This bleak , B & W film from 1950 was revolutionary in its time , but I have a bit of sympathy for those who might find it stylized and even a little pretentious today . What is truth ? - - surely a hard theme to tackle . Seems to me that whether the samurai was killed with a dagger or a sword could be easily determined - - at least today . There would be fingerprints , etc . On the other hand , consider how much of the story depends on interpretation . Does the samurai really look at his wife with disgust after she is raped ? After all , only she would really know - - he doesn't say anything . Is she really fierce , as the bandit says , or weeping and weak as she appears in court ? Was Kurosawa really poking fun at the genre with the clumsy fighting , or was he depicting stark reality for an audience that still romanticized ancient times ? And is the ending really redemptive - - I found myself wondering if the woodcutter would go off and sell the child if it was a girl . Even though Kurosawa intended it to be uplifting - - note the shining sun - - couldn't we wonder otherwise ? I found this film extremely interesting as a precursor to the notion that truth is ambiguous - - but not non-existent . Did anyone notice that during Machiko Kyo's ( the wife ) testomony , the score sounded suspiciously like Bolero - - but not quite . It was written by a composer named Hayasaka , but I haven't uncovered anything , except that I'm not the first one to think this .
    • 017 4  The last scene is really remarkable . The original work of the film is Akutagawa's novel , Yabunonaka , in which the author did not leave a single comment on this rape / murder but only described various character's points of view on this case . Kurosawa attached the most beautiful last scene to the original work . Despite this film mainly consists of the darkness of the human mind , Kurosawa will give you a great hope to live in this helpless world . I recommend this to people who are always worried about their human relations . Anyway get the video and see it . . . .
    • 018 4  Man can not tell the truth . The truth exists only for an instant , after that it is only a memory , a memory filtered through human perception . Does this make man evil ? No , it only makes him human . . . Rashomon deals with such themes . Akira Kurasawa's thought-provoking , meditative , and inovative film asks philosophical questions about the nature of truth , by showing one act of fatal violence as seen through the eyes of four different people . The results are varied , and obscure the truth . But this is far more complex than one would imagine , for the characters do not , as it is often said , tell the story to make themselves seem the more innocent . In fact , 3 / 4 claim to have commited the murder themselves . This results in a profound , but delightful psychological and philosophical puzzle of a film . The visual aesthetics of Kurasawa's film are beautiful , and most innovative considering the very low budget . As a whole the film has a soft , meditative , and very Japanese feel . Scenes of the sun playing through the trees , dappling the ground in dancing shadows , come to mind as being most effective . But what is most impressive , is that the pacing can be so lively , and entertaining , despite the fact that the majority of the film is made up of variations of the same scene . Kurasawa's pallete of truth and humanity introduced western culture to Japanese cinema , and is still a fine introduction to the film of that culture . All in all , Rashomon is most interesting , and satisfying fare . World cinema at its finest !
    • 019 4  This review is from : Rashomon - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) Roshomon is a great film . Kurosawa attempted to re-capture the beauty of silent films , with their focus on imagery over dialog . The twisting plot , the characters , all combing to make a unique viewing experience . Mifune is wild , larger than life . I have heard that each actor in Roshomon was given a traditional Noh mask on which to base their character . It is a considered film . Criterion's Kurosawa DVDs get a little better with every release . Roshomon surpasses earlier releases with a cavalcade of extras . The Robert Altman interview is nice , comparable to the George Lucas interview for Hidden Fortress . I appreciate Donald Richie's commentary . I wish that other Criterion Kurosawa DVDs had his commentary recorded . There is a nice documentary on the cinematographer . My favorite extra is the collection of the original stories Roshomon and In the Grove . They are in booklet form , and not electronic as I feared . I am excited for Criterion to release more Kurosawa on DVD . Highly recommended .
    • 020 4  Roshomon is a great film . Kurosawa attempted to re-capture the beauty of silent films , with their focus on imagery over dialog . The twisting plot , the characters , all combing to make a unique viewing experience . Mifune is wild , larger than life . I have heard that each actor in Roshomon was given a traditional Noh mask on which to base their character . It is a considered film . Criterion's Kurosawa DVDs get a little better with every release . Roshomon surpasses earlier releases with a cavalcade of extras . The Robert Altman interview is nice , comparable to the George Lucas interview for Hidden Fortress . I appreciate Donald Richie's commentary . I wish that other Criterion Kurosawa DVDs had his commentary recorded . There is a nice documentary on the cinematographer . My favorite extra is the collection of the original stories Roshomon and In the Grove . They are in booklet form , and not electronic as I feared . I am excited for Criterion to release more Kurosawa on DVD . Highly recommended .
    • 021 4  This review is from : Rashomon - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) Sometime during the 12th century in Japan , three men , a woodcutter , a commoner and a priest , find themselves under the ruin of the Rashomon as they seek shelter from the heavy rain . As they wait for a break in the weather , they discuss the trial of the bandit Tajomaru , accused of killing the samurai Takehiro after having raped his wife . But was it what truely happened ? The more we listen to the witnesses , the further we seem to drift away from the truth . . . . As I read reviews here and there , I quickly realized that there were basically two sides : the enthusiasts ( the majority ) , some of which almost implying that there just can't be anything to complain about since this movie is widely considered as one of the most important in cinema history . And then there are those who are quick to argue that this movie is overrated , even boring . So , are the former just name-droppers in select parties , hoping to pass for the artsy-witsy type ? Or are the latter either ignorant or trying to be hipper than hip by going against the greater number's judgement ? I think the main issue here is that those two sides just aren't talking about the same aspects of the movie . If there's one thing that's undeniable about Rashomon , the movie that truely revealed its director to the world , earning him a Golden Lion in 1951 at the Venice Film Festial and a honorary award at the Oscars , is that at the time of its release , this movie broke grounds both technically and in terms of story-telling . Maybe the most famous of those technical innovations is the pointing of the camera directly at the sun : to us now , it may comes as completely anticlimatic , but this was breaking one of the biggest taboos at the time But maybe the one aspect of this movie that immediatly impressed the most was the storytelling , this presentation of several perceptions on what happened that fateful day , leading us only to accept in the end that the factual truth , because we couldn't experience the events first hand but only through the eyes of the various witnesses who all played a part in them , is forever lost to us . Such use of subjectivity to present a singular fact to the audience , therefore shaking their confidence in what they have actually seen , continues to this day to influence movies . Surely , if Rashomon hadn't been made , another director would have done just the same , but the first happens to be Kurosawa , and whatever one's appreciation of this movie is , the fact remains that , for those reasons alone , it deserves our utmost respect But does it deserve our love ? Now that's the hard one . It is certainly not an emotionally engaging movie : you're never really brought to care for the characters , which is probably the one reason why I couldn't give it 5 stars , no matter how much of a piece of history that movie is : I just need to emotionally connect with a movie at some level to be fully engrossed in it , and Rashomon just doesn't do that for me . However , it definitely is an intellectually engaging movie , and relatively short . The multiple layers in the visual , the acting , the philosophical statements all almost make up completely for it , and it ends before the lack of emotional ties leads you to lose interest in the story Also , if you are after a Kurosawa movie which will entertain you from the word go , you would be far better off watching Seven Samurai or even The Hidden Fortress . Rashomon lacks this fun factor - on the surface : dwelve on it some and the irony of the woodcutter's second tale , between Tajomaru's child-like glances and the swordfight's parody , which come in direct contrast with the others ' tales , and in particular Tajomaru's own , can definitely qualify as funny , although it is much more likely to bring a soft chuckle rather than an outright loud laugh out of you You may be put off by other details : the lack of dialogues for one . I would however argue that more dialogues wouldn't have been necessary , nor would they have shed anymore light on the case . What the director wants us to know without being put into words transpires through clever camera work , precise use of space and of the elements the environment provides ( weather conditions , light , shadows of the foliage , etc ) . What may also grate on your nerves is what may pass as overacting ( in particular in Mifune's and Machiko Kyo's cases ) : that being said , for one , acting standards in Japan are slightly different from those in the West . What I mean by that is that what they consider good acting may often be considered as unnatural and overacting by us . There's also another explanation : we aren't witnessing the facts as they actually happened . In a sense , the characters involved in this deadly affair are all , as they testify , performing , hoping to convincingly present the events in a way that will best serve their interests and , in the words of the others , they are but mere puppets who are made acting to suit their needs . No wonder therefore that a sense of surreality permeates these performances Another point that may be annoying is the lack of resolution : sure , the image the woodcutter walking away with the baby under sun that is at last shining forth provides for a hopeful note . But the movie , through the camera angle during the testimony scenes at the court , puts you in the position of the judge , of the person who is there to seek out the truth . Yet you are forced to admit in the end that you'll never find it But then the next question should be : do we need to know ? Tajomaru , whatever the role he played , has , from what we are told , killed other women already : even if his role in this affair remains unclear , his fate , now that he is in the hands of justice , shouldn't . The samurai's wife , whether she has encouraged this violent act or not , will live a life of shame , a fate maybe worse than death . The samurai will cannot be brought back to life anyway . As for the woodcutter , even if he has taken the dagger to resale it , his generosity towards the child certainly more than redeems the theft Interestingly enough , Kurosawa , it seems , never thought of Rashomon as of one of his best movies . And as for myself , I tend to agree with that statement , if only because it isn't too engaging on an emotional level . Still , Rashomon remains a movie that should be watched by any aspiring film-maker as well as any person more or less interested in the art of film-making in general . But I would also definitely recommend it to anyone not afraid of rather depressing yet tinted with hope , philosophical statements , and willing to spend the necessary time to reflect on it afterwards and possibly treat themselves to more than one viewing A last word on the DVD itself : I've only watched the Criterion Collection edition of this movie , and I don't think I'll ever need another one . The restored transfer's quality is absolutely superb , even though I am tempted to say that the image faired better than the sound . The translation , from what little I can judge , is adequate ; I have , however , only listened to the English dubbing for a hanful of scenes , so I can't say much , apart that it seemed terribly out of sync sometimes . The extras are all insightful , be it Robert Altman's introduction , the documentary extract on Kazuo Miyagawa , the cinematographer , or the audio commentary by Donald Richie . Also , the booklet that accompanies the single disc contains the two short stories on which the script was based , which is a most welcome addition
    • 022 4  Sometime during the 12th century in Japan , three men , a woodcutter , a commoner and a priest , find themselves under the ruin of the Rashomon as they seek shelter from the heavy rain . As they wait for a break in the weather , they discuss the trial of the bandit Tajomaru , accused of killing the samurai Takehiro after having raped his wife . But was it what truely happened ? The more we listen to the witnesses , the further we seem to drift away from the truth . . . . As I read reviews here and there , I quickly realized that there were basically two sides : the enthusiasts ( the majority ) , some of which almost implying that there just can't be anything to complain about since this movie is widely considered as one of the most important in cinema history . And then there are those who are quick to argue that this movie is overrated , even boring . So , are the former just name-droppers in select parties , hoping to pass for the artsy-witsy type ? Or are the latter either ignorant or trying to be hipper than hip by going against the greater number's judgement ? I think the main issue here is that those two sides just aren't talking about the same aspects of the movie . If there's one thing that's undeniable about Rashomon , the movie that truely revealed its director to the world , earning him a Golden Lion in 1951 at the Venice Film Festial and a honorary award at the Oscars , is that at the time of its release , this movie broke grounds both technically and in terms of story-telling . Maybe the most famous of those technical innovations is the pointing of the camera directly at the sun : to us now , it may comes as completely anticlimatic , but this was breaking one of the biggest taboos at the time But maybe the one aspect of this movie that immediatly impressed the most was the storytelling , this presentation of several perceptions on what happened that fateful day , leading us only to accept in the end that the factual truth , because we couldn't experience the events first hand but only through the eyes of the various witnesses who all played a part in them , is forever lost to us . Such use of subjectivity to present a singular fact to the audience , therefore shaking their confidence in what they have actually seen , continues to this day to influence movies . Surely , if Rashomon hadn't been made , another director would have done just the same , but the first happens to be Kurosawa , and whatever one's appreciation of this movie is , the fact remains that , for those reasons alone , it deserves our utmost respect But does it deserve our love ? Now that's the hard one . It is certainly not an emotionally engaging movie : you're never really brought to care for the characters , which is probably the one reason why I couldn't give it 5 stars , no matter how much of a piece of history that movie is : I just need to emotionally connect with a movie at some level to be fully engrossed in it , and Rashomon just doesn't do that for me . However , it definitely is an intellectually engaging movie , and relatively short . The multiple layers in the visual , the acting , the philosophical statements all almost make up completely for it , and it ends before the lack of emotional ties leads you to lose interest in the story Also , if you are after a Kurosawa movie which will entertain you from the word go , you would be far better off watching Seven Samurai or even The Hidden Fortress . Rashomon lacks this fun factor - on the surface : dwelve on it some and the irony of the woodcutter's second tale , between Tajomaru's child-like glances and the swordfight's parody , which come in direct contrast with the others ' tales , and in particular Tajomaru's own , can definitely qualify as funny , although it is much more likely to bring a soft chuckle rather than an outright loud laugh out of you You may be put off by other details : the lack of dialogues for one . I would however argue that more dialogues wouldn't have been necessary , nor would they have shed anymore light on the case . What the director wants us to know without being put into words transpires through clever camera work , precise use of space and of the elements the environment provides ( weather conditions , light , shadows of the foliage , etc ) . What may also grate on your nerves is what may pass as overacting ( in particular in Mifune's and Machiko Kyo's cases ) : that being said , for one , acting standards in Japan are slightly different from those in the West . What I mean by that is that what they consider good acting may often be considered as unnatural and overacting by us . There's also another explanation : we aren't witnessing the facts as they actually happened . In a sense , the characters involved in this deadly affair are all , as they testify , performing , hoping to convincingly present the events in a way that will best serve their interests and , in the words of the others , they are but mere puppets who are made acting to suit their needs . No wonder therefore that a sense of surreality permeates these performances Another point that may be annoying is the lack of resolution : sure , the image the woodcutter walking away with the baby under sun that is at last shining forth provides for a hopeful note . But the movie , through the camera angle during the testimony scenes at the court , puts you in the position of the judge , of the person who is there to seek out the truth . Yet you are forced to admit in the end that you'll never find it But then the next question should be : do we need to know ? Tajomaru , whatever the role he played , has , from what we are told , killed other women already : even if his role in this affair remains unclear , his fate , now that he is in the hands of justice , shouldn't . The samurai's wife , whether she has encouraged this violent act or not , will live a life of shame , a fate maybe worse than death . The samurai will cannot be brought back to life anyway . As for the woodcutter , even if he has taken the dagger to resale it , his generosity towards the child certainly more than redeems the theft Interestingly enough , Kurosawa , it seems , never thought of Rashomon as of one of his best movies . And as for myself , I tend to agree with that statement , if only because it isn't too engaging on an emotional level . Still , Rashomon remains a movie that should be watched by any aspiring film-maker as well as any person more or less interested in the art of film-making in general . But I would also definitely recommend it to anyone not afraid of rather depressing yet tinted with hope , philosophical statements , and willing to spend the necessary time to reflect on it afterwards and possibly treat themselves to more than one viewing A last word on the DVD itself : I've only watched the Criterion Collection edition of this movie , and I don't think I'll ever need another one . The restored transfer's quality is absolutely superb , even though I am tempted to say that the image faired better than the sound . The translation , from what little I can judge , is adequate ; I have , however , only listened to the English dubbing for a hanful of scenes , so I can't say much , apart that it seemed terribly out of sync sometimes . The extras are all insightful , be it Robert Altman's introduction , the documentary extract on Kazuo Miyagawa , the cinematographer , or the audio commentary by Donald Richie . Also , the booklet that accompanies the single disc contains the two short stories on which the script was based , which is a most welcome addition
    • 023 4  A nobleman and his wife are attacked by a bandit deep in the forest ; the woman is raped , the nobleman killed ( or is it suicide ? ) . The bandit , the wife , the nobleman's ghost , and a woodsman who discovers the aftermath ( or witnesses the whole thing ? ) tell their version of the crime , and each is very different from the others . Kurasawa is exploring what truth is and to what extent will someone twist it to protect oneself . It's a great idea , but what really makes the picture work so well is that through each version of the story the characterizations deepen and become multi-layered . Only the very ending , which seems to be more about selfishness than truth , might their be a misstep ; otherwise the movies is perfect . Deservedly a classic , and devastating in its message of mistrust . Definitely worth a watch .
    • 024 4  From its opening sequence at a ruined temple , to the last shot revealing both the temple's and the movie's name , this Kurosawa film is a masterpiece of the silent language of images . A great film is more than the sum of its parts , but ultimately the history of film bestows a special favour on the role of Image in conveying the medium's message . Film is an image oriented art form , although , like Opera , the success of a particular movie depends on several elements . The greatest compliment I could offer many of Kurosawa's films is that the subtitles , and indeed , the dialogue itself , are not entirely neccessary to experience their full power . Nothing could be truer about this film . Whether it is the wind blowing aside the veil of a beautiful woman , a revelation which initiates a robber's violence upon her ; whether it is the radiance of the sun reflecting on her face , or the bestial , mute struggle between the woman's samurai husband and the robber , or even the picture of three silent , despairing men who cannot understand the irrationality of human suffering - - this film's images speak far louder than its words . They communicate beyond time and space , and attain to a beauty that transcends culture , a beauty that sees into the life of things and speaks in way that the terse ( and often incomplete ) subtitles clearly fails to do . This is pure cinema .
    • 025 4  I recently launched my quest to watch classic movies by Kurosawa by watching first , Seven Samurai , then Yojimbo and finally Rashomon . Of the three , Rashomon is my favorite with it's presentation of four contradictory accounts of a murder . The perspectives are from a bandit , the dead man's wife , the dead man himself ( through a medium ) and finally a humble peasant . All the stories have a grain of truth but all the stories also contradict each other . As I was watching the movie , the peasant's story seemed to tie up the loose ends except that for the fact that a notorious bandit like Tajomaru does not get that way by being a snivelling coward . He had surely killed many people before and dispatching the noble man in cold blood would not be as difficult for him as the peasant seems to suggest . Then it turns out that the peasant had a reason of his own for fabricating the story . Who is telling the truth ? Personally , I believe the dead man . Watch Rashomon and make up your own mind .
    • 026 4  Rashomon , one of Kurosawa's masterpieces , is a deceptively clever and moving portrayal of human nature . You'll read many reviews and commentaries on how the film is about the subjectivity of truth , but this couldn't be further from the truth ! The film is about the human tendency to DENY the truth , which is both real and essential to the growth of the individual . Kurosawa himself said of the film's message : Human beings are unable to be honest with themselves about themselves . They cannot talk about themselves without embellishing . This script portrays such human beings - - the kind who cannot survive without lies to make them feel they are better people than they really are . The film makes no statement about the reality of truth , or even its attainability , but instead about our unwillingness to take an objective look at ourselves . The films characters embody the variety of responses and choices we take in life : selfish cynicism to moral despair , to true responsibility in the face of an unpleasant view of our true natures . The characters are similar in that they lie to themselves , to save face , and to see themselves as better than they actually are . And yet they differ in their willingness to suffer the pain of a view of themselves . It is in this willingness that the road to truth exists , and self-knowledge is the key in Kurosawa's vision . The final scene is hauntingly beautiful in its symbolism : the man who has taken the first step to self-knowledge bears the child - his own soul - into the world . An absolute classic and highly recommended !
    • 027 4  Rashomon is by far the most influential and important of Kurosawa's works . Many have made arguments for Seven Samarai and that is a great movie . However , Rashomon displays a mastery of point of view and storytelling that few other films before or after can match . The cinematography is superb , the acting is unmatched . If you are at all interested in Kurosawa's work or movie-making in general , it is a must-see .
    • 028 4  So many films nowadays ( Memento and Hero being two of the most recent ) follow the format of one story , told through differing viewpoints . But Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon has become so famous that Rashomon is often used to describe a situation where everyone has a story , but the truth is frustratingly elusive . And we see this in everyday life - - in every trial , usually there are differing viewpoints of what happened . Rashomon represents the nature of reality , and the elusiveness of truth . Rashomon is the rare thing : an absolutely perfect film . It is 88 minutes , where not a moment is wasted . The movie starts with three men in front of the town gates , the Rashomon . It is raining furiously , as a Priest ( Minoru Chiaki ) and a Woodcutter ( Takashi Shimura ) are talking about a horrifying story . The Woodcutter was at the scene of the crime , the Priest heard the story at the courthouse . The Priest relates the stories of the wife , the bandit , and the dead man . A third man is known as the Commoner , who draws the story out of the men . One one level , Rashomon is the ultimate murder mystery . The only certain fact is that a man ( Masayuki Mori ) who was travelling with his wife ( Machiko Kyo ) has been found dead in the forest . The second fact is ambiguous , and it is that the man's wife had sexual intercourse with someone involved with the crime . Whether the sex was consensual or not is up to debate . Whether it was a murder or not is also up to debate . The weapon used to kill the man ( a sword or a dagger ? ) is uncertain . Rashomon presents four stories : that of the famous bandit Tajumaro ( Toshir  Mifune ) , the man's wife , the dead man himself ( since he's dead , his side of the story is told through a medium , played by Fumiko Honma ) , and finally the Woodcutter . Their stories differ wildly . All four characters seem to live in their own world , with their own reality . And thus the movie's question : what is truth ? Who is telling the truth ? No one ? Everyone ? In the end , the viewer comes away with the impression that every story is a mixture of truth and falsehood . As the Commoner says , It's human to lie . Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves . It is part of Kurosawa's genius that the four stories all stretch credibility . There are holes a mile wide in each story . The bandit , the wife , the murdered man , and the Priest all tell their stories with a mix of conviction and calculation . The bandit Tajomaru laughs wildly as he tells his story - - after awhile , one senses that the macho swagger is a defense mechanism . The wife cries constantly , and after awhile , that seems calculated also . The murdered man's story makes himself such a noble martyr that his story also stretches credibility . And finally the Woodcutter is caught in a lie before he tells the real story . But , as the Commoner said , if you already lied , why should I believe you ? On the other hand , Kurosawa also makes each story emotionally credible . The facts may not stand up to scrutiny , but the emotions ( the bandit's smugness , the wife's trauma and outrage , the husband's shame , the woodcutter's horror and guilt ) are all strikingly believable . Kurosawa does not merely make his movie a whodunit . He shows the psychology behind each character's story . The film almost voyeuristically focuses upon the eyes of the characters . Their eyes convey horror , hatred , lust , deceit , and conviction . The one pervasive theme in all four stories is honor . Each character has his / her idea of honor , and the stories they tell all make themselves look honorable . Even the bandit has his moral code . Honor is obviously important in Japanese culture , so it is believable that all these characters would sacrifice truth for honor . Yet the differing accounts are by no means self-serving , for reasons that are obvious once you've seen the film . The film ends with the symbol of an abandoned newborn baby . The Woodcutter takes the baby home . Is this a sign of the Woodcutter's inherent decency ( and thus honesty ) , or is he trying to atone for shameful deeds ? It's another question mark for the viewer . The Criterion Collection DVD has restored the print beautifully . The only quibble is that the white subtitles are at times hard to read . Perhaps to ameliorate the difficulties of the subtitles , Criterion has presented a 28 - page booklet that includes the verbal accounts of each character . Film historian Donal Richie provides a thoughtful if somewhat repetitive commentary track , in which he points out the holes in all the stories . He also points out some trivia , like the not-coincidental similarity of the soundtrack to Ravel's Bolero . This film belongs in every filmlover's collection .
    • 029 4  This is actually the sam eplot except seen through the eyes of four people . Here's the basic short story . A man is found dead in the forest , and his wife has been raped . That's the short story . Execept then Kurosawa takes that story and formats it into four versions of the story . this is the kinda thing that happens in court alot . I think it's awesome . It's one of Japan's greatest masterpieces . It's also Kurosawa's best film . If you like Japanese films and Kurosawa click buy now ! Oh , and about the DVD , I think it should be released TODAY !
    • 030 4  Rashomon is one of the great movies for the ages . It challenges us to think about what reality might be , and leads us to wonder if we can truly comprehend reality . Let me begin this review with a fragment about postmodern perspectives . One key point here is that subject and object cannot be separated . We cannot get outside ourselves in order to objectively observe the world around us - - including the world of human affairs . This is oversimplified , of course , but it provides one lens through which to consider Akira Kurosawa's great work , Rashomon . This 1950 film , starring Toshiro Mifune as a bandit , is based on what seems to be a straightforward event . A samurai is killed and his wife raped . The movie starts with three people seeking refuge from a heavy rain under a decayed gate in 12th century Japan . The three : a woodcutter , a priest , and a peasant . They begin talking about the incident just noted . Then , we see the murder and rape through the eyes of the three people involved - - the samurai , his wife , and the bandit . And each version ( the dead samurai's version is provided through a medium ) differs remarkably from the other two . In short , we have three eyewitnesses telling of a fundamentally different event . So , what is reality ? That is the question at stake . And , to make matters even murkier , the woodcutter finally mentions that he had observed the whole scene himself - - and his view was different still ! Thus , four very distinct interpretations of a single event . The woodcutter's version might seem most plausible , but then he trips himself up by revealing something that raises questions about his motives . Why speak of a postmodern perspective earlier in this review ? Because postmodernists argue that it is difficult for people to step outside themselves and their unique perspectives and biases to observe objective reality . And contemporary psychologists tell us the same : humans are remarkably able to distort reality to protect self-image and make their motives appear to be good ( and competitors ' to be not so good ) . In that sense , there is a great deal of human nature , psychology , and philosophy at stake in this movie . Things sound pretty bleak , but the movie closes with an event that actually provides some hope that humans can produce value and make positive things happen . All in all , a wonderful movie . Effects are pretty simple ( the budget was unbelievably small ) . In the end , though , this is a movie well worth viewing , in large part because of the difficult questions that it raises .
    • 031 4  In the Bible , Pilate asks , What is truth ? and , as Roger Bacon puts it , would not stay for an answer . I felt a bit the same way after seeing this remarkable film by Japan's celebrated film maker , Akira Kurosawa . It is set in 12th century Japan , and while most viewers would say it examines the nature of truth and finds it slippery , I think it more properly examines the nature of the feudal Japanese society . We have as representatives of that society , a priest ( Minuru Chiaki ) and a woodcutter ( Takashi Shimura ) sitting out a rain storm in a place called Rashomon . It might pass for a ruined Greek temple except that its pillars and roof are made of wood . The priest and the woodcutter declare that they just can't understand it . They shake their heads and stare at the ground . Along comes a commoner ( Kichijiro Uedo ) , a cynical man who asks what it is that they cannot understand . They have witnessed an investigation into the death of a samurai , Takehiro ( Masayuki Mori ) . He is in some ways the equivalent of a medieval knight . He has a horse and lady , Masako ( Machiko Kyo ) . The accused is an infamous outlaw named Tajomaru ( played brilliantly by Toshiro Mifune , who obviously had a lot of fun with the part ) . He tells his story . He admits to having his way with the lady , but lets the court know that she liked it so much that she began to embrace him while her husband was tied up watching . Afterwards he says that she insisted that they fight over her . Tajomaru obliges . He cuts the rope holding Takehiro and they sword fight . Tajomaru wins . Next the wife tells her story . It is different of course . This causes the court to get a medium ( Fumiko Honma ) to tell the story from the point of view of the dead Takehiro . His story is different yet again . Finally the woodcutter reveals to the priest and the commoner that he saw the whole thing , and he then gives his version , again different of course . The commoner has some terrifically cynical lines . Here are three : It's human to lie . Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves . ( To the priest : ) Not another sermon ! I don't mind a lie if it's interesting . Man just wants to forget the bad stuff , and believe in the made-up good stuff . It's easier that way . He speaks for the natural or animalistic man . His counterpoint , the priest , opines , If men don't trust each other , this earth might as well be hell . He speaks for moral man . Near the end of the film a baby is discovered crying . The woodcutter , who has five or six children of his own , takes the baby home . He represents civilized man . Masako represents the samurai's view of the nature of women when she is heard to say , A man has to make a woman his by his sword . What impressed me most about this film is the way Kurosawa was able to create an emotional atmosphere in each of the sittings . In the Grove we feel the trees and the light that sparkles through the leaves , and the disturbed serenity . At Rashomon in the rain we feel the men isolated and waiting , and in the sterile court scene we feel the severity of the tragedy .
    • 032 4  Kurosawa explores the ambiguous nature of truth , reality , honor , and human goodness like no other filmmaker . His humanistic insight , the power and sheer beauty of his images , and poetic sensibility in this film are incomparable . Worth adding to a collection of the greatest , most influential films of all time .
    • 033 4  First of all , let me just say this : if you are not a fan of Japanese films , Kurosawa , or Samurai flicks in general , you owe it to yourself to see RASHOMON and change your opinion . It is a gorgeous film visually , emotionally powerful , and is short enough to keep even the most impatient filmgoer content . The plot is deceptively simple : a heinous crime has been committed in the dream-like landscape of the forest . A samurai has been found dead in the woods and his wife raped . What unfolds is four different versions of what happened , told by each of the persons involved in the incident . Many viewers have complained about the lack of objective truth in the film . They do not want four versions of the story . They want the truth . Some viewers expect this film to be a murder / mystery , a whodunit film . So who actually killed the samurai ? they ask . But the film is not about discovering who , nor is it concerned with figuring out the objective truth . If anything , Kurosawa's film cares about humanity's inability to experience life unfiltered from our subjective viewpoints . The result : a statement that there is , perhaps , no such thing as objective truth . RASHOMON seems to be interested in the way that each of us experiences and observes the world differently by enlarging and distorting the role that we play in various events . Each of the initial three storytellers claims to be responsible for the crime , suggesting how we each personalize reality to provide ourselves with meaning and understanding . The effect is marvelous . Realism looms large in the film . From their own viewpoint , our samurai warriors are the paragons of bravery and military excellence . Yet , from a different viewpoint , they are both examples of cowardice , yielding one of the most truthful and honest swordfighting sequences I have ever seen . I'm talking about a sequence in which people get exhausted ( fighting is tough ) and are afraid to die . Few films manage to capture life with such a purity . The visual cinematography in this film is absolutely stunning . The film begins with a dreary rain sequence in which the audience is invited under a shelter with some of its principle characters . The rest of the film flashes back and forth in time between the crime and the dreary rain . The contrast of the downpour with the dreamlike forest is effective and disturbing . The forest sequence , which soon follows the opening , finds our principle storyteller walking into the woods , as if to symbolize a journey to another reality . The camera work in the woods is phenomenal and we get to witness several new techniques being tried out : shooting directly at the sun through the leaves of trees , casting dark ( false ) shadows from fake trees on the characters ' faces , and one long-rail shot that , for its time period , is light years ahead of its time . The trial sequence is also unique and interesting . Rather than show us who is doing the questioning , instead we just get to hear the witnesses ' side of the investigation . Moreover , the witnesses speak directly into the camera , giving the film the feel that they are confessing their story to us , the audience . RASHOMON is a brilliant film and I believe it holds up to Kurosawa's THE SEVEN SAMURAI , often regarded as his masterpiece . Buy this film today . You will be transported to another world only to find yourself facing difficulties in your own life .
    • 034 4  Beautifully shot , imaginatively edited , and brilliant ensemble performances . Would you expect anything less from Akira The Seven Samurai Kurosawa ? Of course not . This DVD looks and sounds fantastic . If you're a novice to world cinema , fear not . The audio commentary track explains a plethora of reasons behind this film's significance AND greatness . Also included : a documentary highlighting the director and cinematographer during their later years ; theatrical trailer ; English language track ( don't you dare ! )
    • 035 4  This review is from : Rashomon [ VHS ] ( VHS Tape ) Truth is in the eyes of the beholder , or at least that's what ' Rashomon ' is all about , but to say this Kurosawa masterpiece is nothing but a mediocre flick just shows to what extent utter ignorance takes pride in itself . Listen Drew , if old foreign films are your bag , you'd better check it over ; I think your exploded head is inside and it's begining to stink !
    • 036 4  Truth is in the eyes of the beholder , or at least that's what ' Rashomon ' is all about , but to say this Kurosawa masterpiece is nothing but a mediocre flick just shows to what extent utter ignorance takes pride in itself . Listen Drew , if old foreign films are your bag , you'd better check it over ; I think your exploded head is inside and it's begining to stink !
    • 037 4  Rashomon is unlike anything that you have seen before . True , the methods that Kurosawa employed in this film have often been copied , they have never been matched . This is the story of a rape / murder that takes place in fedual Japan . The crime is told from four different points of view . The three individuals involved and a bystandard . Rashomon explores the darkness of the human heart . The characters are richly textured , and the set is outstanding . Mifune gives an outstanding performance , as the bandit . Rich in symbolism , and seeped in irony , this film should be on any serious film buff's shelf .
    • 038 4  I can't stand it any longer ! Am I watching the same film as everyone else here posting a review ? Invariably the words murder and rape are being used in people's reviews to describe the main events in the story either as a premise or as undeniable facts in the case ! We cannot reasonably make these assumptions . Even the back of the DVD propogates this mistake when it says . . . the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife . I suggest that we can NOT be sure that either of these crimes ( as we commonly understand the terms ) ever really happened . If we are to believe the deadman's story , then his death was by his own hands - - a suicide . And , if we are to believe the bandit's story , the supposed rape becomes very questionable , especially when you consider the almost loving embrace she gives to the newcomer ( i.e . , the bandit ) and the contemptuous attitude she holds for her husband during one of the other versions of the story . I beg of you , be careful in how you refer to the events in this great , great film . The film questions truth . . . please question your own ( and shame on Criterion for allowing that unfortunate blurb to appear on the back of the DVD ) . Thank you .
    • 039 4  Akira Kurosawa , known as one of the greatest directors of all time , got international attention with this film , that opened up the Japanese film market to the world . Released in 1950 , this film , along with the director won many coveted awards . The story is simple , but at the same time the film is very complex . Tajomaru , a bandit , played wonderfully by the great Toshiro Mifune , is accused of raping a woman , and murdering her husband , in the woods . Tajomaru , the woman , a witness , and the man himself ( speaking through a medium ) tell their version of the events . The thing is each one tells a different story , with their own perspective on the events , and perception of those involved . So as each story is told we go into flashback and see the different events , and how the characters act differently . The film from a technical standpoint is perfect , with innovative use of the camera , and editing . Acting is done superbly , with each actor , playing a slightly different version of their characters in each flashback . The script cannot get better , based on two short stories . The film is very serious , and is a meditation on the nature of truth.Its about how truth is relative , and how we each have a different viewing of events , tastes , and concepts . It is also about how each person makes up their own truth , lies , to deceive themselves . Our ego is so big we need to comfort it , and keep it safe from harsh reality . In all this film is perfect , and is even sometime called Japan's Citizen Kane , in the way it impacted Japanese filming . The two films have many similarities . If you enjoy serious films , investigating the nature of truth , and ourselves , see this film . 5 stars .
    • 040 4  A film about the subjective nature of truth , Rashomon is a startlingly original film from Japanese director Kurosawa . Well known and regarded for his classic samurai films , Kurosawa's rich and sharply observed personal films are often overlooked by most fans of Japanese cinema . It has more to do with Kurosawa's unconventional approach to storytelling than anything else . Like Hitchcock , Truffaut , Kubrick and Spielberg , Kurosawa uses the camera as truth detector . When a young woman is raped and her husband is killed , we are asked to interpret their various stories and figure out who's telling the truth . We realize , in the process , that everyone and no one is being completely truthful for a variety of selfish personal choices . We also begin to question the subjective nature of truth and personal observation about the world . Mifune is marvelous as the rapist / killer / lover ( you decide which hat he truly wears ) in an unexpected role . He's just as compelling here as he was in The Seven Samurai and other Kurosawa epics . The Criterion transfer is crisp rendering the black and white photographer in stark , sharp images whose beauty belies the ugly truth underneath it all . The extras include a running commentary by a Kurosawa scholar and loads of goodies including the original US run theatrical trailer . Given the age of the film and condition of the negative , the transfer is nearly flawless having none of the flaws I've seen in many video transfers and new prints of the film . I'd highly recommend Rashomon for fans of Japanese cinema as well as anyone who likes entertainment to be more than a giant meatball .
    • 041 4  Rashomon is the story of a crime as seen by various people . Like The Catcher in the Rye . . . this movie by Akira Kurosawa was released in 1951 . And , like the Catcher , it's a classic . It examines the nature of Truth and how humans are prone to embellish it so that they appear better . A bandit commits a crime in the forest and the same is narrated by the involved parties . They say dead men tell no tales . But this movie has an exception . The samurai who dies in the movie narrates his story through a medium ! But is his version true ? Do dead people still have an agenda in the after-life ? Rashomon dovetailed beautifully with one of my favorite quotes : Truth has many faces , and any one of them alone is a lie . Thoroughly enjoyed it . One of the strange things about the movie is the tendency of the bad guys to cackle in a spooky way . The worse their nature , the weirder their laugh .
    • 042 4  As the week of Akira Kurosawa's 100th birthday celebration has came and past , I decided that it was appropriate to watch a Kurosawa film and what best than a film he created 50 years ago , Rashomon . A film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa and based on two stories Rashomon and In a Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa and featuring cinematography by Kazuo Miyagawa . Many consider Rashomon to be the first film that American and Western audiences were exposed to a Kurosawa film and with the film winning an Italian Critics Award and the highly coveted Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival and an Academy Honorary Award , there was quite a bit of interest in the film . Needless to say , the film was an influence to many filmmakers and even received a loosely-based remake in 1964 titled The Outrage starring Paul Newman . VIDEO & AUDIO : Rashomon is presented in black and white ( 1 : 33 : 1 ) . It is important to note that the film has received major restoration in Japan by Kadokawa and the version featured by Criterion Collection on DVD as released years before the restoration was completed . But the version shown on the DVD is good for a 50 - year-old film and has its share of dust and specks but at the time of this DVD's release , the Criterion Collection did feature the film with a new HD digital transfer and restored image . The transfer was created from a 35mmm fine-grain master positive on a high definition Spirit Datacine . The MTI Digital Restoration was used to remove thousands of instances of dirt , debris and scratches . Some scenes look very good such as closeups where we can see the beads of sweat on the characters . But also various cuts during the forest and in many ways , Kurosawa's admiration for silent film is used in Rashomon as there are minimal sets and kept things simple . Also , the film utilized really technological uses of contrasting shots courtesy of cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa . With the Criterion Collection dedicated in releasing Kurosawa's films on Blu-ray , fans can only hope that this new restored version of Rashomon will be considered for Blu-ray release sometime in the near future . AUDIO & SUBTITLES : Audio for Rashomon is presented in Dolby Digital Monaural . Dialogue is primarily center channel driven but for a more immersive soundscape , I chose to watch Rashomon via my receiver set on stereo on all channels . According to the Criterion Collection , the HD transfer of the film includes restored sound . According to the Criterion Collection , the MTI Digital Restoration System was used to remove thousands of instances of dirt , debris and scratches . The soundtrack was mastered at 24 - bit from the original audio magnetic tracks . Audio restoration tools were used to remove clicks , pops , hiss and crackle . It is important to note that the main Japanese soundtrack is included but also the original English dubbed soundtrack . Personally , I didn't watch much of the film with the English soundtrack as it was very reminiscent to watching old Kung Fu , Shaw Brothers films in the early ' 80s . But for those who can't stand subtitles , at least they have the option to select an English dubbed soundtrack . Subtitles are in English . SPECIAL FEATURES : Rashomon - THE CRITERION COLLECTION #138  comes with the following special features : * Audio Commentary by Donald Richie - Film historian Donald Richie provides the commentary of Rashomon . As a film critic well-versed in Japanese cinema , Richie goes into depth about the filmmaking of the film . * Video Introduction by Robert Altman - ( 6 : 39 ) Filmmaker Robert Altman ( Mash , Shortcuts , Gosford Park ) talks about his love for the film and Kurosawa's symbolic use of light . * Excerpts from The World of Kazuo Miyagawa - ( 12 : 32 ) A Japanese documentary ( with English subtitles ) based on Akira Kurosawa's longtime cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa who talks about working with Akira Kurosawa and gives viewers insight to the director and the their professional relationship . Most importantly , the techniques used to film Rashomon . * Trailer - ( 3 : 27 ) The original theatrical trailer for Rashomon . * 28 - Page Booklet - Featuring the an essay on Rashomon by Stephen Prince ( Author of The Warrior's Camera : The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa ) , Akira Kurosawa on Rashomon ( from Something Like an Autobiography ) and excerpts from Ryunosuke Akutagawa's Rashomon and In a Grove novel ( both translated in English ) . JUDGMENT CALL : I first watched Rashomon while I was a young college student and was very surprised by how the film was much different from The Seven Samurai , especially when it came to the number of characters featured , the emotion of the characters especially the crazy Tajomaru and also taken aback by the reaction of the samurai's wife Masako . Needless to say , the concept of seeing flashbacks and finding out that these flashbacks were either truth or fabrications , one can't deny of how this film captures your attention as you want to know who committed the crime . I was impressed how Kurosawa was able to film Rashomon despite receiving a low budget and keeping things to a minimalist set . Just to see how the camerawork came about , how meticulous the editing was since Kurosawa likes to shoot a scene with several cameras and of course , the character performances which were quite important in the development of the film . In fact , prior to the film , the actors and staff lived together temporarily and it was a system which Kurosawa felt worked in bringing harmony to the set . As mentioned , there has been restoration done on Rashomon with the source material being extremely in bad condition despite the 35mm print from 1962 being in very good physical condition . So , each scene was digitally restored and cleaned up courtesy of the Academy Film Archive , the National Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo and Kadokawa Pictures , Inc . The film has been shown throughout the world in 2009 and one can hope that with Kurosawa's films making it to Blu-ray , the Criterion Collection considers the new restored version of Rashomon for Blu-ray release . But for now , those who find Rashomon can be content with the Criterion Collection's DVD release for now . A good number of special features , solid picture and audio quality as one can expect from a 50 - year-old film on DVD and an informative booklet and a few bonus features included . Rashomon is definitely a Kurosawa masterpiece worth watching and having in your collection .
    • 043 4  RASHOMON is , as most prior reviewers have acknowledged , a classic film that put director Akira Kurosawa , leading man Toshiro Mifune , and cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa on the map , not only in Japan but around the world . Even people who have not seen this wonderful film understand a Rashomon situation as being what this movie portrays : a series of events that play out entirely differently when recalled by various people at a criminal arraignment . This case involves a brutal rape and murder , but a loggerman , a priest , a bandit ( Mifune ) , a veiled lady and her dead husband ( portrayed by a ghost ) all tell different stories . Whether intentionally or un , each player in the atrocity tells a version most favorable to him - or herself . This provokes a crisis of faith in the priest , who begins to wonder if there is any such thing as verifiable reality . And there's even a surprise ending ! ( Or two , if you count the last witnessing . ) All the cast is good , but Toshiro Mifune , here relatively early in his career , is stellar playing the thief who waylays ( or is it encounters ? ) an upper-class veiled woman on horseback and her solicitous spouse . He plays about every human emotion portrayable in an over-the-top performance that is completely convincing nonetheless . It doesn't hurt that Mifune had one of those intensely masculine faces that are fun to watch under any portrayal . ( His career embraced over 70 feature films , mostly Japanese , including most of Kurosawa's output . ) Criterion Collection's version of the DVD has some very good bells-and-whistles that help open up the film . There's a ( subtitled ) documentary made for Japanese TV network NHK about cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa and his work on RASHOMON , in which he relates his experiences during filming . Another plus is film scholar Donald Richie's audiotrack commentary , which reveals further interesting cinematographic innovations : RASHOMON was a very early film ( perhaps the first commercial release in Japan ) to photograph the sun directly , and to encourage solar flare ( optical streaking that on film prints extends from the sun itself ) . There was also a great use of mirrors ( including one full-length mirror borrowed from the wardrobe department ) for highlighting and the occasional impressionistic effect . Unfortunately this restoration's technical quality , while excellent under any circumstances , does not achieve the level of technical perfection under Criterion's restoration as other classic films I've seen from them , such as RULES OF THE GAME or LA STRADA . Obvious blemishes had been banished , but the occasional freckling gets through anyway . Also noticeable at times is the kind of flickering many of us have been exposed to in other black-and-white movies ( not to be confused with the deliberate impressionistic use of mirrors as related above ) . I doubt these minor demerits will detract from anyone's enjoyment of the film , though ; but for the sake of perfection I hope Criterion will restore it yet another time with the very , very latest technology . I also want to point out that RASHOMON is not only profound , but profoundly entertaining . It uses a very precise screenplay that bears close attention and makes each witness's testimony at least plausible . It's also fast-paced , well-acted , and engrossing . This film holds up under multiple viewings , partly to coordinate the plotworks from different sources , but also for the sheer joy of seeing an outstanding movie . Does anyone making films today put together philosophical , narrative and technical elements so well , and combine them with such outstanding action scenes ?
    • 044 4  In a brief introduction to this edition , Robert Altman talks about how ' Rashomon ' influenced him as a director - how the day after watching he incorporated into his own work camera angles he'd first seen the day before . From the perspective of a film buff , even from a casual one , this is instructive and educational . Others who aren't concerned about film techniques and storytelling methods may wonder what all the fuss is about . Part of the problem when dealing with groundbreaking films like ' Rashomon ' , and which is unavoidable , is that other filmmakers , like Altman , are going to pilfer from the original until it's as common as its imitations . Without clues , as a modern viewer , I already have trouble picking out exactly what it was that made the first film so unique , though when it's pointed out , as in commentaries , I do find it noteworthy . Not necessarily compelling though - and not the primary reason I have for watching a film . As an average member of the audience , it's the story in which I'm interested . In fact , absorbing stories and different outlooks are why I seek out foreign films in the first place - I'm looking for a distinct perspective on the human condition . The way that it is told - the art of direction and editing - plays an important part in the effective transmission of that story from director to audience , and may even add depth to the story , but particular techniques tend to lose their surprising originality over time , especially in the case of pioneering , often copied directors like Kurosawa . So the question is , does ' Rashomon ' still tell a compelling story after the once startling imagary is old hat ? It begins in a torrential downpour . Two men , a priest and a woodcutter , have taken refuge in the ruins of an abandoned gatehouse and are joined by a third , a boorish ruffian . He notices the others are under a horrible mental strain , and badgers them until they tell of the trial they had recently witnessed , and of four eyewitness accounts of a murder and a rape . Each participant's account is un-reconcilable with the other , until it is unclear if anyone is telling the truth . While the on-screen events of the film may have been somewhat daring for 1950 ' s America , the idea that people will twist their stories around to suit their own temperament and needs could hardly have been astonishing . Maybe my own cynicism gets in the way , but that the lies of the trial's participants would affect the priest and the woodcutter down to their existential core seems unlikely and contrived . ' Rashomon ' is a critical favorite - it won the Oscar in 1951 for Best Foreign Language film , is in the top ten of director's favorites , and currently enjoys clear popularity in the film community as evidenced by its ranking on IMDB . Those factors , and the idea that the film dealt with the slippery notion of truth , led me to expect a truly engaging and thought-provoking film . By no means is ' Rashomon ' a bad movie , but have to say I was under-whelmed . Of Kurosawa's films , I would handily recommend ' Throne of Blood ' over ' Rashomon ' for an intense movie experience - and even though it's a different type of movie , I'd say that ' Seven Samurai ' is also a better choice . I'm glad that such films as ' Rashomon ' are still prized and in print - I enjoy seeing how the medium has evolved and learning about film in general . But it would be unfair to recommend unreservedly ' Rashomon ' to those who are not likely to appreciate it for what it is - a good film with pioneering camera and storytelling techniques that will probably seem ho-hum by today's standard . Budding auteurs and film buffs will find much to value - those looking solely for morally and mentally challenging content will likely be disappointed .
    • 047 4  This is , without a doubt , an amazing acomplishment in post-war Japanese cinema , as well as my personal favorite Kurosawa film ( though Yojimbo comes in close second ) . From start to finish ; simple , understated , austere , and yet it works so well under the circumstances . Kurosawa seamlessly blends a unique multi-angle form of storytelling with a simple elemental setting , and his own minimalist direction to create a truly fascinating vision . The use of pounding rain , sweltering heat , a cool breeze , the shade of a tree , all serve so well to convey the atmosphere of each of the respective scenes . Still , equal praise must be lavished upon the actors themselves . Takashi Shimura brings a wonderful humility and honesty to his role as the woodcutter , and serves to tie the various accounts together . Toshiro Mifune , in one of his earlier performances , creates a striking mix of ferocity and malaise , evoking a predatory lion , toying with his prey . Truly , a masterpiece from start to finish , and one of the greatest films to even come out of the land of the rising sun . Watch it as soon as humanly possible . You shall not be disapointed .
    • 048 4  This film is really something special - it has received so many good reviews that another one is kind of redundant - but I am sure there are quite a few people out there who have not seen it - so if I can convince someone to watch it I think it is worth my time . This is one of the finest Japanese films I have seen - I am not particularly into the whole samurai genre - so this philosophical film about truth is probably my favorite Kurosawa film - and along with Ozu's ' Tokyo Story ' and ' Floating Weeds ' my favorite Japanese film . My favorite aspect of the film is the photography - the atmospheric qualities - the rain , the lighting , the forest with sun coming through the trees . Even the close-ups of people are very powerful and every bit as classically cinematic as anything from hollywood . The story is so intriguing as well - I don't think the act of murder is really the focus of the film - it is more like an incidental element - the morality is not what is being examined - it is more about the nature of story-telling - so Kurosawa in a way is examining himself - the story-teller . Thus , we are at a duplicity - and one that leads to philosophical contemplation - something central to art .
    • 049 4  I watched this movie several times in my youth . It's miraculous ! This was the first Kurosawa's movie I saw . That prompted me to see his two other movies - Ran and Seven Samurais . When Rashomon became available in our local library ( two years ago ) it became the most popular video for over several weeks . The very moment it was returned to the library - was immediately taken by a library member . The crucial personality of this movie is not bandit Tayomaru nor the killed man , nor the killed man's wife . It's the witness , the logger . For him , the truth , the fight of two men and the death of one of them , is an unbearable burden . The logger did not want to accept it as truth , he did not want what's happened to happen . Even - he did not want to be a witness - he was simply doomed to be a witness . He knew the truth but not able to deliver it to anybody . He is not a coward - rather a man that cannot accept the truth and unpredictable and not known cosequence of delivering it to the court . The dagger he took and , probably sold in order to overcome some of the difficulties of his , poor man everyday's life - is just an expensive loan which he decided to pay in full by adopting the abandoned baby . How much this world be more beautiful if every living man decides to redem himself the way this logger / witness did do ?
    • 050 4  Let me start off by saying I love Kurosawa and have seen many of his films , but this one was a little slow and felt too simple and shallow . I got the point of what he was trying to say almost immediately ( truth is relative and depends on the person and that everyone's version of a story is told to make him or her look best ) , and didn't need to go through every character's perspective to get that point . It felt like he painfully belabored the point and not much else was added to make the plot interesting . And in some places the acting was overdone for the plot / genre and was actually a little bit distracting to me . I'm not saying that I disliked the movie , I just didn't think it was that it could qualify as a masterpiece .
    • 053 4  This is a must-see before the next time you are called for jury duty . You could probably be dismissed from serving if you tell the judge you've seen it and you no longer can believe anyone giving testamony .
    • 054 4  Perhaps one of the greatest films ever made , the truth and beauty it brings to the screen is incredibly moving . With beautiful black and white cinematography , brilliant acting ( Toshiro Mifune is amazing ! ) , and a wonderful , life-affirming ending , this is a must for any collection and one that you'll never tire of seeing .
    • 055 4  Just got Criterion's Rashomon a couple days ago . I'm very happy with it - - it's hard not to like anything Criterion puts out . Having seen the movie on VHS many times , I was curious to see if there would be a lot of difference in the picture quality . It is very good . Actually , I think the transfer is a better one that Seven Samaraui which seems odd since that was made a few years later . But maybe Criterion had better source material or has just improved its techniques - - I don't know . Comparing the additional commentary to others from Criterion - - particularly Seven Samaraui - - I find it moderately good . Donald Richie may be an expert in Japanese film but he tends to rehash some of the same ideas over and over as he goes through the movie . The packaging which includes reprints of the Rashomon source stories is beautiful . I'm glad Criterion is puting this information in book form instead of in some goofy screen-display format which they were doing briefly . The audio is what I expected : a muddy mono typical of films from that period . But I do hear Fumio Hayasaka's arrangements better and that's nice . The marriage of images and sound that portray the woodcutter entering the forest seem better than I remembered them in the VHS version . I hope this helps you . I'm sure there are a lot of other reviews that will detail the plot for you .
    • 056 4  In the first chapter of Burton F . Porter's excellent new book , Philosophy through Fiction and Film , he discusses the problem of obtaining reliable knowledge and he uses Akira Kurosawa's ground breaking film , Rashomon , to illustrate the difficulty of determining the truth value of what we think we see and know . Professor Porter gives us a careful summary of the film with his thoughtful comments on the challenge of knowing the absolute truth about what we experience . When asked about what he knew for certain , Albert Einstein said that the only thing he could be certain of was the speed of light , and even that was open to question . Kurosawa and Einstein appear to be in accord and Rashomon is Kurosawa's attempt to show how difficult it is to know the truth of what actually happened , even when an event is viewed by several eyewitnesses . Rashomon is now available on DVD , courtesy of the Criterion Collection of Films , and the black and white print we see on the screen is sharp and clear and the sound is good . This film does not translate well to the small televison screen . I sat up close to my 32 Panasonic and wished I had a larger TV so that I might be drawn in more completely as a witness to the complex and engaging story . The movie opens at the Rashomon Gate in feudal Japan . A woodcutter and a priest are sitting patiently waiting for a rainstorm to subside . Soon another man , a commoner , joins them and the woodcutter begins to share with the two other men his confusion about the facts surrounding a recent rape and murder . We learn later that the woodcutter is an eyewitness to the crimes , but first he tells us about his experience as he watches intently an investigation / trial . A judge is listening to a bandit , a woman , and a dead samurai , whose testimony is revealed through a medium , tell the judge their version of the rape and murder . The bandit first tells us he is reponsible for rape of the woman and the death of the samurai . Next the woman seems to indicate that she might be responsible for the death of the samurai , her husband . Then the samurai , by means of a medium , indicates that he committed suicide . Finally , the woodcutter tells us that the bandit is indeed responsible for the murder . Each of these stories is visually recreated in effective flashbacks . Lest any viewer think this problem is factual and straight forward , all the viewer needs to do is to write out his version of the various stories and then check with what even well respected critics have to say to see that the viewer's version will differ sometimes signficantly from various professional reviews . Kurosawa demonstrates convincingly that in the telling of events each viewer is likely to put forward a version that enhances the way that viewer is perceived by others . This film is about truth and lies and the point made is that the person we are most likely to be untruthful to is ourself . If we are unable to tell the truth to ourselves , how will we be able to be honest with others ? Everthing we see and experience is filtered through the total experience of our lives . In a world filled with competing stimuli , where do we focus our attention ? We miss more than we see , sometimes even things right under our very noses . Reality is fabulous , as in this Kurosawa film , but he shows us that it is also as ephemeral as the light passing through the trees in the forest creating shadows everywhere . Rashomon was made for a Japanese audience and was very popular in Japan . In 1951 it was shown at the Venice Film Festival and won the Golden Lion Award . Since that time it has taken its place among the finest films ever made . It is not without its flaws , chief of which , in my opinion , is the music score , particularly the adaptation of Ravel's Bolero , which distracts the viewer from the events taking place on screen . Also , at the very end of the film a baby is found at the Rashomon Gate and the woodcutter takes the baby home to add to his large family . This plot device to soften the negative impact of the film on the audience and to give hope where little has been experienced weakens the impact of all the events in the story we have just seen . For a film meant to be shown to a Japanese audience , this Hollywood ending seems out of place and untrue . The greatness of the film is the story it tells and the superb perfomances of all the actors . I cannot agree with critics who feel that some of the perfomances of the actors , particularly the bandit , were over the top . This film is a highly visual , almost a throwback to silent pictures . We learn about the characters from what we see more than from what we hear . Additionally , the superb camera work is a most important part of the story telling process . Rashomon is a must for students of the cinema and , as was mentioned earlier in this review , for anyone interested in trying to learn the truth value of knowledge .
    • 057 4  Rashomon is about the war . The image of a half-destroyed Japan as represented by the half-destroyed Rashomon gate appears in the opening scene . Beneath it , several people find shelter in the undestroyed portion , and as the rain forms them into a group , they seek to understand why a terrible crime has occurred . Rashomon opened to Japanese audiences in 1950 , about four years after the Emperor spoke to his nation and ended the war . Watch carefully as Kurosawa takes his audience through the process of understanding . We never get to the truth of the actual events of the murder , and that was the experience of the Japanese public regarding their country and WWII . Instead , like their truths , the truth seen by the Rashomon audience is distorted through viewpoints . The warrior class samurai-turned-bandit knows he'll be blamed , and then recounts the episode with self-aggrandizing machismo in true kamakazi fashion . The cleric did accurately recall the deceased's weaponry in type and number and didn't see the woman's face . The woman says she can't remember if she's responsible , but we all know she herself was a victim . The dead man , who speaks to us through a medium , claims responsibility for his own death , and thereby absolves the living - - almost . Later we learn that the woodcutter , the average Japanese worker , saw the whole thing and did nothing to stop it . That , as it turns out , is the most horrible crime of all . The movie concludes at the Rashomon gate , where we are left with the guilt of the average Japanese citizen for failing to stop the warlords , and a priest . We then discover that in the half-destroyed structure , there is now someone else , an orphan . The skies clear and the woodcutter , who already has six children , insists that the priest allow him to take the baby . Charity is penitence .
    • 058 4  Just wanted to let peole know that criterion has this film listed for a march release on dvd . for people who love it as much as i do , this is one of the biggest dvd releases in a while .
    • 059 4  A man travelling with his wife in feudal Japan is murdered by a bandit . . . or is he ? As the main protagonists - the bandit , the wife , a passer-by and ( I kid you not ) the man himself - tell their versions of events , a series of contradictions emerge . Who , if anyone , is telling the truth ? Rashomon's Byzantine plot structure was unique at the time , and still feels fresh over half a century down the line . Presenting no easy answers ( there is reason to doubt the motives , and thus the stories , of all of those involved ) , it leaves the audience to make up their own minds about who to trust . Fans of latterday head-spinning efforts such as The Usual Suspects and Memento will find plenty to get their teeth into here . It all looks gorgeous , to boot ( Kazuo Miyagawa's cinematography is done justice by an excellent DVD transfer here ) , and the performances - especially Toshiro Mifune , as the bandit Tajomaru , cackling hysterically and pausing mid-fight to swat mosquitoes on his neck - are superb . If I've got one gripe , it's the slightly pat redemptive ending , but that's a minor fault at best . Otherwise , Rashomon is downright essential . It's too easy to get all rose-tinted when trying to assess a long-established classic , but this is one that's more than stood the test of time .
    • 060 4  I usually watch many kinds of different movies , but I wasn't a fan of old Asian movies , at least not until a friend lent me this beautiful classic , directed by Akira Kurosawa . Now I know what I was missing . . . Rashomon ( 1950 ) , shot in black and white , is nothing short of stunning . The first scenes show us a priest and a woodcutter taking refuge in an old temple , in order to escape from the heavy rain . A third man shows up , and they start talking about a recent crime that troubles them . Despite the fact that these men were at the trial in which those involved were judged , they don't have a clue regarding what happened , due to the fact that they hear very different versions of the events that took place that fateful day . Will the truth ever be found out ? And is there such a thing as truth , or an objective point of view ? This is the first film by Kurosawa I have watched , but it won't be my last . Highly recommended ! And . . . thanks , Rubén : ) - Belen Alcat , June 2007 -
    • 062 4  Leave it to the Criterion Collection to give Akira Kurosawa's seminal 1950 masterpiece its due with this superb 2002 DVD package . First , renowned Japanese film scholar Donald Richie provides a terrifically insightful commentary as he does on classics of other Japanese genres , Yasujiro Ozu's family drama , Early Summer ( 1951 ) , and 。ô Ichiwara's sun-tribe melodrama , Crazed Fruit ( 1956 ) . Second , there is a seventeen-minute excerpt about the film from a feature-length documentary about its masterful cinematographer , World of Kazuo Miyagawa , who did similarly amazing work on Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu ( 1953 ) and Ozu's Floating Weeds ( 1959 ) . Third , if you choose to buy rather than rent the DVD , there is a beautifully designed booklet with relevant excerpts from Kurosawa's autobiography and the two short stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa from which Kurosawa and co-writer Shinobu Hashimoto based their screenplay . Add a brief testimonial introduction by Robert Altman , and this becomes one of the best of the Criterion Collection DVDs . Set in feudal 12th-century Japan , it is a far more intimate film than its vaunted reputation leads one to believe and quite brief at 88 minutes . Ostensibly a courtroom drama , the multi-layered story focuses on the rape of a woman and the murder of her husband in a forest grove . The events of the crimes are told from four different perspectives - a swaggering bandit named Ta。ômaru , a woodcutter who witnesses the crime , the wife and even the murdered husband by way of a medium . Each account unfolds in a distinct style - an extravagant samurai adventure according to Ta。ômaru , the wife's melodramatic recollection as a victim , a heroic martyr's tale from the dead husband . In a blessedly economical style , the contradictions in their accounts multiply as the story unfolds . The framing device is the woodcutter's own flashback of the incident as told to a commoner , but his version is far from the definitive one as he may have stolen a dagger from the crime scene . Kurosawa does such a brilliantly dexterous job in structuring the differing accounts that as the film progresses , it becomes less about seeking the truth and more about the power and inevitable conflicts arising from everyone's sense of ego . The only thing that becomes clear by the end is how individual perceptions shape reality and that the absolute truth is a myth . Miyagawa's expert camerawork is stellar in a way that raises the bar for subsequent cinema , especially the vivid facial close-ups of the main characters , the sharp angles of the sun-dappled forest scenes , and the dramatically ink-tinted raindrops . A sterling cast has been assembled with Kurosawa's muse , Toshiro Mifune , a youthfully feral presence as Ta。ômaru . Masayuki Mori and an especially vibrant Machiko Kyô , who later reunited in the ghostly Ugetsu , lend particular distinction to the couple ensnared by the tragic situation , and the three legendary actors show impressive versatility in highlighting different aspects of their personalities in the various accounts . Takashi Shimura , who later starred in Kurosawa's poignant Ikuru , is also superb as the woodcutter . Many filmmakers have since copied Kurosawa's then-daring narrative structure ( for example , Martin Ritt's The Outrage and Edward Zwick's Courage Under Fire ) , but none comes close to capturing the pervasive sense of ambiguity that makes this movie retain its initial power .
    • 063 4  Rashomon is a masterpiece . This film shows us a hard statement that maybe disagree to many people ; the truth doesn't exist . We see always fragments of it no matter how old you are . Aesop in his fables states : in every man always there are three ; that who he thinks he is ; what other people think he is and finally that one who really is . In that sense Goethe talked about four levels of the reality ; lineal , literal , methaporical and finally the cosmic . In what level are you when you assume the judgement about a fact ? Remember his beliefs are always relative ; your ethical world depends about a lot of issues ; such as your social status ; your religion ; your birthplace ; your culture and even your age ; so be careful when you say are in possesion of the absolute true . And that's what the movie shows us ; a terrible murder ; five persons state about the fact ; and before you five different versions are given . So , the questions is ; who of these persons is lying and who is true ? All of us have a sight blind ; and because of this you may agree with some of these people ; and your close friend or even your couple may be perfectly disagree with you . The reasonable doubt is a very well konwn device employed by all the lawyers in their cases . Indeed , this term inspired to Sidney Lumet for making his opera prima Twelve angry men in 1957 . Back to Rashomon we find to Akira Kurosawa in one of his major achievements . The handle camera is superb ; and this is the first film in the story where , by the first time the camera shows us the sun ; a brilliant methapor and also a challenging aaproach by this master director . Mesmerizing ; unforgettable ; you'll be shocked every time you watch . Remember what the woman says uin a sequence : The men lie because they are weak . And this point is remarkable , just because the fragile human condition ; the human being always will keep his dignity , pride and a set of values above all the odds ; and through this process , the truth is always put in a second place , by obvious reasons . Heissenberg established the uncertain principle in 1930 and this review is far to explain about this issue , but what it deserves to call your attention at the time you say ; I found the truth ; or even worst ; I represent the truth . This procedure is typical of dictatorial regimes ; the state is me and other similar statements reveal a syntom of being out of the life and even the nature , a wise mind always thinks and acts ; after rethinks and reacts ; but never remains quiet . Kurosawa adapted this film from a novel from the same title Rashomon from 1927 written by Yabu no Naka . This film is a wonderful exploraton of truth and human weakness . In fact this film is watched and analyzed in Post Grade School of Management , for purposes related with another goals . This film was remade in 1964 as Outrage for Martin Ritt , where Paul Newman plays the role of Toshiro Mifune in the original version . A true landmark . Don't miss it . A superb classic !
    • 064 4  This movie is truly great , but it seems to lose a bit of its power on the small screen . Makes me long for the old days at the Thalia theater in Manhattan , when they'd have revivals of gems like this . ( sigh )
    • 065 4  Actually , I've seen this film only once . But this is one I always remember as a masterpiece . This film lingered in my mind for some time after viewing - eventually I knew I enjoyed so much . It is a rare film that offers a lot ( I do not know how many films these days can entertain in the same way this does , even with the Hollywood budget ) . This film remains as Kurosawa's landmark in the film history , and recollection of a masterpiece Japan once able to offer .
    • 066 4  This movie says more about the state of mankind than should be possible in so short a time . It's a mystery and a kabuki stage play and a passionate piece of psychology you're forced to watch until the unforgettable cathartic conclusion . I don't want to give away plot , etc . If you like movies that make you think and remain with you after the credits , this is for you . There's no cursing or rampant sex . . . but the situations are highly adult . The VHS transfer isn't too pretty . Subtitled .
    • 067 4  This review is from : Rashomon - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) This movie needs no endorsement from me , it is a classic . But I think it should also be required viewing for high school age students as part of learning about citizenship . This movie and 12 Angry Men provide a dramatic insight into the need for skepticism and moral courage in making judgements . Each of the witnesses here testify in self-serving but mutually exclusive ways . In 12 Angry Men it is prejudice that infects the process . Both are able to get a philosophical point across while still being a tense drama . They should show both of these to anyone called for a jury pool as well .
    • 068 4  This movie needs no endorsement from me , it is a classic . But I think it should also be required viewing for high school age students as part of learning about citizenship . This movie and 12 Angry Men provide a dramatic insight into the need for skepticism and moral courage in making judgements . Each of the witnesses here testify in self-serving but mutually exclusive ways . In 12 Angry Men it is prejudice that infects the process . Both are able to get a philosophical point across while still being a tense drama . They should show both of these to anyone called for a jury pool as well .
    • 070 4  Check out more foreign movies on [ . . . ] . Few classics in the cinematic world achieve such rare levels of cult status . This movie has not just inspired many movies , series and plays but also finds mention in literature . The beauty of the movie comes from the way how everybody's truth and lies differ . The truth is never found eventually because the truth is all dependent on the individuals and all of them are convicts in some way or the other . The guilt in each individual as well as the attempt to save themselves determines the stories . The movie actually throws up a very important question that if the essential data is kept intact the interpretation is completely dependent on the stakeholders . A masterpiece that has been around for over 50 years and even today anyone watching world movies will find it extremely enjoyable . Must watch
    • 071 4  This film is both aesthetically beautiful and provoking of some of the long standing questions of our existence . In a world of relativist perceptions and competing ways of interpreting the world , can there ever be any such thing as absolute truth ? Like Socrates arguing the sophists on the nature of virtue , truth slips away as we try to pinpoint it , and eventually we realize absolute truth is unknowable . Plato tried to construct that city of virtue and here we have a construction of the opposite of the absolute . Kurosawa constructed a world for the revealing of the impossibility of absolute truth , replacing it with hope in human kindness and empathy . I view this film favorable alongside Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly as an investigation of our clouded moral compass , fractured perceptions , and potential for redemption in love . The cinematography is stunning . . . especially the usage of light / dark in a symbolic fashion , the images of the rain , and the decay of the building that shelters them . The acting is superb ( Toshiro Mifune is always great ) and the narrative captivating .
    • 072 4  Without doubt , Akira Kurosawa is one of the greatest cinematographic directors of all time . He is a master in delivering a complex message in mind-penetrating fashion . He reveals to us the onion's innermost by carefully dissecting away each layer from the surface , providing us with a clear view of the layer underneath . Rashomon is a story about the truth and the frustrating difficulty of finding the facts even in a seemingly simple event . A spectator tells the story . A judge must decide on a crime based only on testimony . He finds as many accounts of the crime as there are parties involved . Each story is different . In the end , the judge is left with as many realities as there are people involved . The contradictions of the witness accounts are so irreconcilable that they drive the story's teller mad . Kurosawa reveals the limitations of our mind to grasp actuality . The quest for truth in the story of mankind is a never ending journey . I have written more about Kurosawa's movies here :
    • 073 4  The Bottom Line : Rashomon's framing scenes don't work too well ( especially the ending ones ) and the message is diluted somewhat by the use of a medium to tell one of the stories , but Rashomon is still interesting and worthy of a look .
    • 075 4  Akira Kurosawa had been a filmmaker for almost a decade , since his 1943 debut film Sugata Sanshiro , and had some renown in his native Japan , when , in 1950 , his film Rashomon rocketed him to international acclaim , including the Academy Award For Best Foreign Film , after winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival brought the film and its director , and Japanese cinema , a Western audience . He deserved every plaudit he received for it , as well as every ticket sold , because it is an excellent film . Yes , there are some flaws - minor , such as the all too sunny ( literally ) ending , and some of the over the top hammy acting of Toshiro Mifune as the bandit Tajomaru , but given what was coming out of Hollywood at the time - mind-numbing musicals and grade B comedies - Kurosawa brought filmmaking style back to an earlier , simpler place , even as he many times over increased the bar for narrative complexity . Given that the film is not even an hour and a half long , the many interpretations of the multifarious actions of the characters are all the more impressive . The story is as familiar as it is simple . The central ostensible narrative concerns the rape of a woman ( Machiko Kyo ) and the murder of her Samurai husband ( Masayuki Mori ) , both unnamed , in the 11th or 12th Century , in a wooded glen . The main suspect is the notorious bandit Tajomaru ( Mifune ) , yet , the viewer cannot be certain , for never do we get a single unbiased version of the events that transpire . All three of the main characters tell self-serving versions of the story of how the lady was raped and the Samurai murdered . . . . The film does stretch real reality , a bit , in that while it is well known that minor differences crop up in people's versions of singular events , such glaring inconsistencies as whether or not the Samurai died of a knife or sword wound are implausible , even given the film's setting . But , we allow for this dramatic license because the resonance of the tale's moral is so profound , as well the fact that Kurosawa does not cop out by giving us a ` real ' authoritative version . That said , the end of the film , after the differing tales of the crime have been discussed thoroughly by the woodcutter , priest , and commoner , Kurosawa seems to stumble , as if he did not have a really good way to end the film . The commoner hears a baby , who's been abandoned at the temple . He steals its blanket , and the priest and woodcutter try to stop him , claiming him evil . He responds by implying that the abandoning parents were evil , and that the woodcutter is a liar , and possible killer . Off into the rain he goes , with his booty . The priest and woodcutter stand with the child until the rain breaks and the sun emerges . The woodcutter offers to take the babe as his own , that he has six children already , and another mouth will hardly matter . The priest feels that his optimism about life and mankind , so tested by the events he has seen , is reaffirmed by the woodcutter's generous offer , and the sun shines through the clouds . That such a terrifically subtle and ambiguous film ends so tritely ( the emergent sun and abandoned and rescued baby are a simply awful and heavy-handed use of symbolism ) , and preachily , reminded me of the greatly disappointing ending that Fyodor Dostoevsky tacked on to Crime And Punishment , in his two terrible epilogues that hammer the book's themes into a reader's head , for he distrusted his own book's ability to convey those themes . The visual and musical aspects of the film's ends do much to mitigate the narrative drop to the floor Crime And Punishment bears , and Rashomon is still a great film , partly because its ending is not as bad as Crime And Punishment's , and partly because it reaches greater artistic heights , and dares more conventions , than Dostoevsky's novel . Still , there's no excuse for its veer from even greater heights , even if the last few minutes are not the heart of the film . While all the actors are wonderful , too much attention has been given to Toshiro Mifune's loony overacting ( sometimes a necessity for the comic and divergent elements to emerge ) as the bandit . Yes , this film made him a star , but the best performance in the film is by Masayuki Mori , already a major film and stage star in Japan . His is a far less showy role than Mifune's , but he conveys the slight differences all the versions the others tell with none of the easy visual pyrotechnics Mifune's almost boobish bandit is allowed . The raising of an eyebrow can mean the difference between truth and lie , and Mori is expert at walking the line between those ends . Machiko Kyo , as the wife , is the least notable performer . This motto of the film is not only true , but so powerfully true that the term Rashomon Effect was coined to signify the differing perceptions of individuals over singular events , and has been used in both psychological and jurisprudential venues . Ultimately , the film is about even more than the difficulties of interpreting reality and truth , but about how and why they swerve under the force of mere human egoism . Of course , the beauty of the film really lies in the fact that all of its viewers think it's about something other than what it may ultimately be about , which only recapitulates the internal characters ' dilemmas , further binding us emotionally in their angst , making us feel what they live . In this empathy Kurosawa cinches and twists that bind , and we are turned from mere percipients into purveyors of an art and reality for our own selves that we , unfortunately , too rarely experience .
    • 076 4  Everytime I watch Rashomon , I'm reminded of the problem of the synoptic gospels . How can three accounts of the same person differ so much in detail ? And do the differences between them render them false ? It seems to me that Kurosawa invites viewers to reflect on memory , narrative , and accuracy in this gripping synoptic account of the murder of a husband and the rape of his wife . That the two crimes took place is indisputable . But the four witnesses to them - - a woodcutter , the wife , the criminal , and the victim ( through a medium ) all famously give different accounts of them . Kurosawa deliberately leaves the viewer in suspense as to the correct account . Accuracy isn't what's important here so much as the four different narratives and the psychological reasons why the four witnesses experienced the same event so differently . If there was ever a compelling argument against taking eye-witness reports literally , this is it . And yet truth emerges from the four accounts , as from the three synoptic gospels . It's not literal truth , but is what might be called existential truth . We learn something valuable about the way in which memory reconstructs events and about human passions , fears , hopes , and yearning . So much has been said about Kazuo Miyagawa's cinematography here and elsewhere that I've nothing to add . It's really genius the way he manages to capture the dappled light of the forest , and his ability to switch back and forth between the faces of the witnesses without in any way blocking the story's flow is admirable . The acting , while a bit overblown in places for western tastes ( particularly Toshiro Mifune's portrayal of the criminal ) , isn't bad at all . The Criterion edition is , as usual , nicely transferred . Robert Altman's accompanying video commentary on the film is worse than useless - - rambling , full of platitudes , repetitive . But the accompanying booklet is well-written and informative .
    • 077 4  This review is from : Rashomon - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) Let me start by reminding people of the world that there are only a hand full of basic stories in existence . The rest of the stories are diverse versions of these basic hand full of plots . It's what makes Shakespeare a Classic . . . and the rest of those great artists . The concepts of betrayal , loyalty , love , and death . Money and murder etc . Rashomon had a plot o this magnitude , and for the time , this film is amazing . The scenes are amazing ! I can't imagine what this guy looked like on set making it happen , but I imagine every time I watch this film .
    • 078 4  Let me start by reminding people of the world that there are only a hand full of basic stories in existence . The rest of the stories are diverse versions of these basic hand full of plots . It's what makes Shakespeare a Classic . . . and the rest of those great artists . The concepts of betrayal , loyalty , love , and death . Money and murder etc . Rashomon had a plot o this magnitude , and for the time , this film is amazing . The scenes are amazing ! I can't imagine what this guy looked like on set making it happen , but I imagine every time I watch this film .
    • 079 4  Rashomon is , without any hint of doubt , one of the world's greatest motion pictures . One can go on and endlessly extol the marvel that is Akira Kurosawa , his technical prowess , the unparalleled cinematography which is still ground-breaking after 50 or so years , the theatrical acting led by Toshiro Mifune that effortlessly heightens the dreamlike tone of the film , and the unsolvable mystery of the tale by Ryunosuke Akutagawa . Or you can forever discuss who among the characters is telling the truth . Technicals aside , critics have tried in vain to define what Kurosawa actually wanted to convey in this film . Can we define truth ? Do we all see different sides of a story ? Who is telling the truth ? Some say that somewhere in the movie , there is a hint on what the truth was . Was there , in fact , a secret hidden in the movie ? Outside of the most controversial films ever made , Rashomon provokes the mind of its viewers just by its sheer ' complex simplicity ' . And it is utterly frustrating to search for the truth in this film . Which is the main point-the truth , in its absolute purity , cannot be deciphered . We as human beings taint the truth with our own prejudices , concepts , and convictions . While this leads us to lose faith in man as the monk did , within us there is always that one little spark of hope that gives worth to a life filled with despair , deceit , and uncertainty . The ending was in fact leered at by critics , but why dwell on too much unresolvable gloom ? This movie posed exactly that question . In short , you can enjoy Rashomon as a true perfection of a film , or as a philosophically enlightening parable .
    • 080 4  Akira Kurosawa's 1950 masterpiece was the western culture's introduction to the greatness that is Akira Kurosawa . This is an incredible film . One of the best of all time , one that is not dated , features great acting , amazing direction , and one doozy of a story . This just may be my favorite Kurosawa film . It's an intellectual and entertainment treat . Criterion always releases overstuffed DVDs and this one does not disappoint . Featuring a commentary and a number of awesome featurettes , you'd be foolish to pass this one up . Must Have . Also check out : Seven Samurai - Criterion Collection - 3 - Disc Remastered Edition Ran - Criterion Collection Ikiru - Criterion Collection Throne of Blood - Criterion Collection Drunken Angel - Criterion Collection
    • 081 4  Rashomon ( Akira Kurosawa , 1950 ) It is a measure of how memorable I found Rashomon that , while watching it earlier this week , I realized roughly three-quarters of the way through that I had seen it about five years previously and utterly forgotten . ( Worse , what brought the original viewing back is Machiko Kyo's vastly annoying derisive laugh about three-quarters through , a sound that grates on my nerves even worse than Julianne Moore's hideous faked cough in Safe . ) That said , and taking the fact that I'd forgotten I'd seen the film before into account , it's a pretty good little flick . The story : A bandit accosts a man and wife on their way through the woods . The husband winds up dead . Simple , right ? Well , no . Not really . The story is told from four different perspectives , and those perspectives are related secondhand through the experiences of a trio of travellers who have been thrown together by coincidence during a rainstorm . It's the unreliable narrator , but fractured and diffused to the point where no one - - including the traveller who , it has been hypothesized by some , is the actual killer - - knows what's real and what isn't . The idea here , according to most critics , is that Kurosawa was examining life and our perceptions of it - - the idea that nothing we know is true in any empirical sense , that all of it is filtered through our perceptions . True enough . And it's certainly not a bad film ; it's rich , complex , well-acted ( well , except for that laugh ) , well-directed , and fun to watch . But I'm not sure why it gets so much more attention that a number of other , more brilliant , Kurosawa films ( Ikiru is the obvious contemporary choice ) . Enjoyable , but not Kurosawa's best . * * * *
    • 082 4  When Akira Kurasawa released this film in 1950 , it was not expected to do well . When it won various awards around the world , including the Academy award for best foreign film , the reaction was one of some surprise . Now , over 50 years later , Rashomon stands as a benchmark in cinema , a film that has been copied and ripped off countless times , but never duplicated . The camera work , storytelling , script , and setting are flawless , giving us the proper mood right from the start . The start is a torrential rainstorm , where several men sit around discussing a trial they have either witnessed , or taken part in . The trial concerns the murder of a samurai and the rape of his wife , apparantly at the hands of a famous bandit ( played by Toshiro Mifune , a Kurasawa favorite ) . The story of what actually happened is told through the point of view of the bandit , the woman , the dead man ( through a spriritual medium ) and a woodcutter who was there and now is standing with these men at the beginning of the film . The interesting thing is that we as the audience are left to assume what really happened , as the film gives no definitive solution . The subject is really the nature of man , and how point of view will change the perception of a scenario to favor or in some cases , cast a negative light on events that transpire . This was the first film to shoot directly at the sun . In fact , the beginning shot of the woodcutter traveling into the woods to cut lumber is breathtaking , the camera weaves in and out , up and down , through branches and leaves , showing just how far out of the way these things will be happening . The excellent DVD has a feature on the camera work , which you will find interesting and will help you when you go back to the film for a second viewing . Also included with the disc is a booklet with the two short stories Kurasawa used as the premise for the film ( most notably In the Grove ) along with an excerpt from Kurasawa's book about the shooting of the film and the apprehension of the Japanese film companies about the fact that the story seemed to have no good ending . Kurasawa explained that the story was not about the solution of the murder as it was about the nature of man . Film fans need to see this movie . So many movies made in the last few years ( Snake Eyes , The Usual Suspects ) owe themselves to Rashomon , movies which show us points of view that are not necessarily the truth . The fact is that four people can see a situation but report it four completely different ways . What's the truth ? The truth is - - that's just human nature .
    • 084 4  A man is dead , a woman was raped , and that's all that can be definitely said . Somebody has committed murder , but nobody knows whodunnit . Genius filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon is a classic for its skillful direction , suspense and wonderful acting . It's one of those movies you think must be vastly overrated until you see it , and are blown away by it . At the Rashomon Gate in eleventh-century Japan , a man ( Kichijiro Ueda ) takes shelter with a priest ( Minoru Chiaki ) and a woodcutter ( Takashi Shimura ) during a rainstorm . The woodcutter is depressed and the priest is horrified , over a recent crime : the vicious bandit Ta。ômaru ( Toshirô Mifune ) was arrested for murdering a man named Takehiro ( Masayuki Mori ) and raping his wife Masako ( Machiko Kyô ) . But when taken before the police , Ta。ômaru claims that he has his fun with the woman and killed her husband honorably in a fight . But Masako begs to differ ; she claims to be the victim first of the sadistic bandit , then of her cold-hearted husband . And when a medium calls up the spirit of Takehiro , he claims that Masako was unfaithful , asking the bandit to murder him , then spurned by Ta。ômaru . Her actions drove Takehiro to suicide . And the woodcutter himself claims to have seen the altercation - - and his version is wildly different from them all . During the filming of Rashomon , director Akira Kurosawa stated that the film is a reflection of life , which doesn't always have clear meanings . The same could be said of truth . Questions are raised by the events of Rashomon , but given no easy answers - - sometimes no answers at all ( my biggest question was how Masako's gown stays so white if she's always weeping on the ground ) . Light and shadow whirl and dance in a frankly beautiful woodland setting , serving as a pretty backdrop for some very ugly acts . The fight scenes are masterful - - they look like real fights , as opposed to choreography . Ta。ômaru's are more stylized , whereas the woodcutter sees two guys rolling and staggering around with swords , obviously freaked out . Kurosawa was even brave enough to touch on the unique idea of having the deceased testify . The spinechilling seance scene , starring a downright spooky , stark-faced Fumiko Honma , is a haunting classic scene . Are Kurosawa's insights dark and depressing ? In a fascinating , hypnotic way . . . yes . But while calmly pointing out the ability of human beings to lie even to themselves , he acknowledges that there's good in there too ( a scene where the woodcutter adopts an abandoned baby as the priest watches ) . We lose our illusions and innocence as the priest loses his , forced to look on how despicable people can be , but while being comforted with the knowledge that people aren't all bad , and that unadulterated truth isn't really necessary to have good in you . Toshirô Mifune chews the scenery with gusto as the barbarian bandit , laughing and jerking like a hyena just to see people jump . At first glance , Machiko Kyô seems to be overacting , until you see how unhinged her character has become by whatever happened . Masayuki Mori doesn't get to act as much as the others ( the poor guy spends most of his time tied to a tree ) , but is good when the camera zooms in on him . Minoru Chiaki and Takashi Shimura add an extra dimension as the innocent young priest and the tormented woodcutter . Gloomy , thought-provoking and ultimately quite freaky , Rashomon still defies conventional filmmaking and will suck you right in . It's brilliantly crafted and exceptionally directed , and must be seen by all lovers of cinema . And that's the truth !
    • 085 4  One fact that isn't well known is that artists seized on this film , in the 1950s , as the most outstanding visual representation of perspective and point-of-view ever represented in the arts . Arguments raged in intellectual and arts circles about whether artists in every medium needed to address these two issues as well as Kurosowa did . No one argues about that any longer but it is fair to say that any art work that deals with those issues was influenced by this film . The initial set-up is very simple . A woman is raped and her husband is murdered . Four different characters then give their versions of what happened . Each believes in the total accuracy of his or her version but the differences from 4 sets of eyes and ears are remarkable to behold . Japanese filmmaking was unknown in America until this film opened and in the ensuing decades we have been exposed to the high art that exists in virtually every artistic medium in Japan . I certainly have learned an enormous amount of art just by exposure to Japanese art without ever having set foot in the country itself .
    • 086 4  Kurosawa stands out as one of the great directors of modern cinema . This movie in particular is often cited as a shining example of his artistry . The sets , lighting and cinemotagraphy are superb . Where the film falters is in editing . It is choppy in parts to the point of being laughable . Add to that the scenery chewing overacting of Toshirô Mifune and the viewer is left with the sense that Kurosawa missed the mark on this ambitious project . The great director resorts to some rather hamfisted sentimentalities at the end as he attempts to salvage the tale's sound and fury into something of significance . He is only partially successful . Faith in man is no faith at all , except ( apparently ) when compared to what otherwise would be our confidence that mankind is not worthy of our faith .
    • 087 4  This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film . Rashomon remains one of the most popular and most famous Japanese films of all time . It is very deserving of it's honor and worthy the Criterion Treatment . The film won an Academy Award ® for best foreign language film . The movie also has excellent cinematography which has been imitated by many filmmakers . The story is about 4 people who recall the recent murder of man and the sexual assault of his wife . Each person recalls the events differently from each other . This film remains one of my favorites and has a very well done release by the Criterion Collection . There are great special features on the DVD also . They are : A theatrical trailer Optional English language dubbing . Scenes from World of Kazuo Miyagawa a documentary on the film's cinematographer which originally aired on television in Japan . An introduction with Robert Altman Audio commentary by Donald Richie . In addition to this , the liner notes have the two short stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa which the film is based on and an excerpt from director Akira Kurosawa's autobiography . This is an essential film to buy on DVD and should be owned by all interested in Japanese cinema .
    • 088 4  This film is famous for portraying the same crime from the point of view of the three people involved plus a witness . In fact , the word Rashomon has actually come to mean a situation in which different accounts of the same story vary wildly . WHAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED is the framing device used to narrate and comment on these different versions of the incident . Strangers taking refuge in a temple from a rainstorm relate the four stories and wax philosophic on the nature of humanity . These scenes definitely become preachy at times , but they're completely necessary . Without them , it's a gimmicky movie about memory and the subjective quality of experience . With them , it's about the nature of humanity and our hope for the future . Also the temple scenes are a needed buffer between the flashbacks . About the acting , as many have noted , the actors in the flashbacks DO do a caricature of their own roles . What many here seem to have missed is that this is on purpose to exaggerate each storyteller's viewpoint and to change the tone in each account . As a counterpoint , the actors in the present are almost overly somber . A twist at the end in the temple reminded me of the ending of 2001 : A Space Odyssey . It actually struck me as a bit too deux-ex-machina , but Rashomon will always be a classic , and deservedly so .
    • 089 4  The movie Rashomon is intended to be conflicting , to the point that the viewer is left with the task of finding the truth . Each character tells some truths and some lies , therefore all the testimonies are both true and false . But beyond the truths and lies is personal interpretation , which is reduced to the individual viewer's subjectivity . As in with life itself , there is no such thing as true objectivity , everything is a variation depending on one's prejudices , motives and background and more so because these variations occur on different levels from materialistic to philosophical . Speaking of philisophical : the meaning of Rashomon is that we can not be honest with our selves about our selves . Our egos drive us to actions that are always self-centered . Each character tells his own story for his oun gains . As the stranger says we can not survive unless we are what you call selfish .
    • 091 4  This movie was beautifully put together . The black and white with slight yellow colorwashing was a good look for the story and added to the heat . The basic storyline is that a murder was committed in the woods and the only few people that have a clue as to what happened tell conflicting stories . The underlying storyline is that everyone involved lies or bends the truth when they're telling their stories to the officials . Every one of the people , even the dead man's tale through the medium , try to make themselves look better rather than tell the truth and have the situation resolved . Very beautiful music and coloring and storytelling methods . Kurosawa did a wonderful job on this movie and it was very enjoyable .
    • 092 4  Yes , this is a very important and influential movie , but it is also fascinating to watch . Made more than fifty years ago , only five years after the end of World War II , it holds up extremely well and even without understanding all or even most of the things in the movie that speak directly to Japanese culture . The movie challenges us by providing us a sense of reality and then undermining our certainty . At the end of the movie it is common for a viewer to think that there is no independent reality , that reality is simply a personal construct and that all our personal stories are simply lies . That is indeed a very twentieth century post-modern college sophomore lesson to derive from it . The story opens with two men sitting forlornly at the ruined Rashomon ( Dragon gate ) outside twelfth century Kyoto . It is pouring rain and they keep muttering that they don't understand , they don't believe what they have recently been through . An unnamed man , obviously a poor and very cynical individual , joins them inside the structure to get out of the rain . He breaks off pieces of the structure to make a fire and , overhearing the muttering , and asks the men to tell what it is they don't understand . The woodcutter tells how he went into the woods to get the firewood he sells and came upon a body and ran to get the police . We learn that the other man is a priest and his encounter with the man and his wife before they met the bandit . The woodcutter then recounts the trial of a bandit . Tajomaru ( Mifune ) and his testimony of how he came to kill the man and rape his wife . After the testimony we think we have the story . However , they then bring in the wife who has been found hiding out . She tells a completely different story including the statement that SHE killed her husband . The dead man testifies through a woman who evokes his spirit . She becomes possessed and recounts what he knows about his death . He doesn't know who killed him or who removed the weapon . The cynical man senses something is wrong with the woodcutter's story and challenges him to tell what really happened . We then get another very different version . There is much more to the story than this broad outline , but I don't want to take away from your viewing pleasure . There is a very interesting commentary on the disk by Donald Richie , an authority on the films of Kurosawa . He sounds a lot like a professor teaching undergraduates driving home the same points multiple times . One of them is that every one of the speakers has his or her own story and that each is true for them and that there is no other truth to know . This is clearly a lesson you could learn from the film , but that would be like learning you can never get a pepperoni and mushroom pizza because the driver delivered a ham and pineapple pizza instead . It may well be that there is no perfect or Platonic Ideal pepperoni and mushroom pizza . Some may have more pepperoni than others , others may use different kinds of mushrooms . What is pizza anyway ? Yet , when I give you a pizza , you know if it is pepperoni and mushroom or something else , right ? As for the impossibility of reconciling these stories , well , we have forensics nowadays . Even before scientific analysis , intelligent folks could and did compare the various testimonies given and then did some analysis to come up with a more likely scenario that is different than any individual testimony . It will also likely be incomplete and wrong in details , but will reveal more than accepting only one version or none . It is also important to remember that the testimonies recounted here are also not direct , but are also recounted by the woodcutter even though we see them as if they were direct accounts . So , there is another level of potential distortion . And it is clear that everyone here is indeed bearing false witness . This is a very different thing than a person who is trying to provide a truthful account , but is limited by the human condition and is only able to provide a partially complete version ( even with errors ) . This kind of error is quite different than a conscious lie that is meant to deceive . The person telling a real lie often understands how their story differs from reality because they are calculating their distortion to be believable but deceptive . It may be that they eventually commit so strongly to the lie that they forget reality , but others can still get closer to what really happened than accepting the lie at face value and shrugging one's shoulders saying , Well , what can you do . It is his reality . Anyway , this is a fascinating and important film . Watch it and enjoy !
    • 093 4  One of the timeless classics offering a profound insight into the nature of human beings and the stories we tell . How we see things , the filters we place on our view of the world , say more about us than the truth of the events we witness . This film is a masterpiece - a must see not only for film lovers but for anyone looking to art as a reflection of human realities .
    • 094 4  Not only is this DVD a treat for the industry wannabes , it is a lesson on film making for its audience . With the special features in this Criterion Collection , one gains an insight into the over hour-long interpretation by Japanese-film historian Donald Richie . An interpretation certainly is helpful to a film that has little dialogue and is rich on visuals . Director Robert Altman speaks about the film and influences from Kurosawa . And one of the more informative features is an excerpt from The World of Kazu Miyagawa , the film's cinematographer . This , too , is a wonderful lesson on the skill used in shooting this visual masterpiece . A booklet is included , no page numbers , but it includes the full-length dialogue from the source stories In a Grove and Rashomon . The story is based on four people's interpretation of what happened to a man who was murdered and his wife raped in the woods . The movie leaves the viewer without any concrete answers ; it allows the viewer to decide who is telling the truth , or , if the truth is even spoken . Picture quality is excellent as well as subtitles and it also provides optional subtitle or soundtrack choices . If you have seen this classic foreign film on VHS , choose the DVD Criterion Collection . It is plentiful . . . . . MzRizz
    • 095 4  Rashomon is a fabulous film . When a nobleman is murdered and his wife raped while travelling through a wooded area , a bandit , played by Toshiro Mifune is accused of the crimes and an inquest is held . The witnesses - - including the spirit of the murdered noblemen - - each recount conflicting and contradictory accounts of what actually happened . To what extent it is the result of simple faulty memory or the product of willful deciet is for the viewer to decide , thus making for a very thought-provoking movie .
    • 096 4  Throughout the film you will be amazed at how far ahead of it's time it's film making experience was . The extra material on this dvd fills you in on that . It's almost as if it set the new standards of film-making and furthered the process of film-watching itself . While the film is decidely Japanese , it allows you to experience the story from several seperate views ( including the views of the camera itself ) - this is classic film-making at it's zenith . The characters also play a vital role in the dynamics of the film ( and audience perspectives ) by representing all aspects of society itself . It also underlines the fact of what is truth ? and who is right ? in modern society . Without overstating the facts , it draws you in to understand the characters themselves . It's ending is also a desperate attempt for truth in the individual and hope in man accepting his own confused existance . And so the setting of a court case is most fitting and its dynamics allow you to see all of it's seperate parts ( including the jury and witnesses and audience within the court room ) . It's almost as if your watching a play about a play . The camera work is also the second director in the movie . This movie is a must for any serious film-watcher .
    • 097 4  This is Kurosawa's masterpeice . He was the greatest director in the history of film ( the head of the American Film Institute also shares this opinion . . . it is not ventured lightly ) and this is the greatest of his achievements . He probably made four out of the ten greatest films ever , but 200 years from now this is the one film students will study endlessly . From the exquisite pacing to the stunning cinematography to the classic story of the terrible unknowable nature of truth and the effect of perception on it , it perhaps never will be equaled . Go ahead and rent it and see for yourself . Then , like me , you will want to own it on DVD .
    • 098 4  To have a film that holds the coveted title of being the reason that the Best Foreign Film category was created for the Oscars is one thing , but to be able to back up that myth with a powerful film that speaks both about humanity and the strength of truth is a whole new angle . Often we witness powerful foreign films that slip through the lines of cinema , regarded by so many as valuable assets to the film community , but never see the gold of Oscar . In the same sense , sometimes the most popular of those foreign films eventually become Oscar contenders , not because they are worthy enough , but because studios had the funds to allow bigger distribution to audiences , thus allowing popularity to do the rest . Rashômon is one of those few films that succeed in giving us both a quality film and the accolades to represent it . Rashômon is a rare breed of film . The Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa took many bold steps with this film ( pointing his camera at the sun , filming deep within the jungle , and the mockery of truth ) , that it is unlikely that you could go to a modern day Hollywood film without seeing one of these techniques being borrowed . His bold storytelling , creative camera work , and powerful characters give us a unique story that should be included in everyone's film library . While the characters were strong , the direction was flawless , and the story was compelling , there is a theme that needs to be discussed while talking about Rashômon . This is the story of murder , betrayal , and rape and in any typical courthouse film you would have some spineless witness finally break down and confess the truth . At the end of these films the truth is discovered , but not in Rashômon . Kurosawa gives us the black sheep of themes by never really giving us what we really wanted from the beginning of this story . As I began this film , I thought I was going to get a clear-cut story with honesty and troubled souls , but instead I was handed no prize at the end . What I sought after the most is not handed to me in a Happy Meal container at the end , but instead trapped still within the film . Kurosawa gives us the meaning behind the story , that there possibly is no way of knowing the true truth . Four different souls , seeing the same event all culminating to four different results means that the truth may never be known . Kurosawa has taken the story and provided us with the main character being truth , and like Kaiser Soze , the greatest trick it ever pulled was convincing us that it didn't exist . Deep within Rashômon the truth is hidden , and it may never emerge , but that is what Kurosawa intended . A viewer could walk away from this film , after several viewings , and discover different truths about the characters and story . This is a constantly evolving film that will continually get better with time . Outside of these beautiful themes , Rashômon is a flawless film . From the execution of the actors to the simplicity of the direction , there is plenty in this film to keep your mind busy and your jaw nearly dragging on the floor . To begin , the performance by Toshiro Mifune ranks among the best in film history . In each of the stories he is portrayed differently ( even in his own ) and with precise execution he delivers every time . He is insane , passionate , loyal , and villainous all at the same time . While some may see his acting as eccentric or over-the-top , I found each of his portrayals as accurate and astute . When Mifune is on the screen his presence commands your eyes and you cannot help but become involved . Second to his performance is that of the troubled wife . While her characters is the most confusing / suspicious of them all , Masayuki Mori keeps us intertwined with the story by controlling her character with the greatest of ease . When it is time for her to be unleashed , the true drama of the story is thrown in your face with brilliance and expertise . Overall , I thought that this was a near perfect film . Kurosawa is intense , original , and adeptly secure about his stories . I have seen the same passion in Ran , and it cannot be denied . My only concern with this film is that if you are going to watch this movie , make sure that you can devote your entire mind to it . I found myself watching it three times because I could not stay focused ( outside factors ) enough to see those darkly hidden themes . I especially enjoyed the unearthed darkness of humanity , which is hinted on at the end . The fact that after hearing these stories of murder and rape , it doesn't stop one from continuing along a similar path . It is a powerful tale that should be enjoyed by all ! Grade : * * * * out of * * * * *
    • 099 4  Akira Kurasawa has done yet another great movie . Rashomon takes place in feaudal Japan in a old abandoned temple where 3 men gather reminiscing over the 4 stories told by a wood cutter , a theif , a wife , and a priest . This story is compelling and is one of the greatest films to come out of Japan . Akira Kurasawa has also directed Seven Samurai , Yojimbo , and Sanjuro all staring Toshiro Mifune they are my top favorite Kurasawa films and recoment tem all along with Rashomon . To be blunt this film is AMAZING
    • 100 4  This film is the one that brought Kurosawa to international fame . A tale of betrayal , lust , and , ultimately , murder , Kurosawa explores the depths of human capacity for evil , yet also leaves hope for redemption of the human soul . Arguably one of the greatest and most-influential films of all time , it is beautifully acted by the entire cast . A must see !
    • 101 4  Quaint and to the point ( even for Kurosawa ) . The basic idea is deceit and how a story can be manipulated . A film like this must be seen for the simple fact that it draws the audience into the story with every possible element . The acting aspect though theatrically hoaky which is typical of most early Japanese works can be amusing . Yet at the same time when it counts the acting is bang on , even by westernized popcorn flick standards . Until the end we are told how to think in various different ways , and though debatable as a sufficient conclusion ; in my opinion we have an opinion and thats more than enough . Kurosawa gave us a choice and with a choice to judge we must relate to our own lives for experience . To give the audience the ability to relate keeps them in the story even when they leave the theater .
    • 102 4  Kurosawas ingenious breakthrough feature examines the elusive nature of truth , and our ability to reshape it to suit what we want to believe . Brilliantly composed and shot , the film's dreamlike quality is hypnotic . Thought-provoking and surprisingly accessible , Rashomon is a cinematic triumph .
    • 103 4  Weather forms a central character in Kurasawa's Rashomon . In the story line , it's so hot . . . that the breeze that stirs the sleeping satyr-like panther Mifune , causes him to kill . The scene where he pulls slowly at the leather thong to which his sword is tied as he looks up into the dazzling light filtering down through the leaves . . . that slow movement to evil , caused by the heat and one breath of air . The rain that relentlessly batters the Rashomon gate forms another plot point , and sets the mood . . one feels completely paralyzed . . . . the poor humans grappling to understand the complex distortions of the horrible human drama . . are frozen by their inability to understand why the story is different , depending of who tells it . . and unable to leave the story alone . . . paralyzed from shaking it off by the rain which forces them into contemplation as they sit under the rotting gate . Some trickery going on , here . Why do the stories differ ? A simple answer , and the one Kurosawa gave to his uncomprehending assistant directors was that we all invent our own little worlds , and our version of a story flatters our own self-concept . The bandit wishes to be seen as bold and powerful , beyond the confines of law . The husband , confronted with the rape , wishes to see himself as wrongfully betrayed by his wife . The wife wishes to see herself as victim . The woodcutter , when finally confronted , wishes to tell the truth . The film puts the truth into a relativistic purgatory , and is unfathomable , and yet , completely truthful . The mental pretzels one can make trying to figure out the truth are less satisfying than the experience and acceptance of the story as it plays out . Hey , there are some things in life you are just not going to know . Kurosawa missed the beauty of the silent cinema , and aimed , in this film , to bring back a way of storytelling that depended on visual cues , camera movement , shot compostion and acting rather than dialogue to produce the film's power and emotion . This is surely one of the most exquisitely filmed works of all cinema , so sensitively photographed that the shades of grey suggest colors . . . ! I see Mifune's eyes , lit by a reflection of the sun from a mirror laced with foilage ( a trick the cinematographer used to increase the available light in the forest while retaining the proper leaf-filtered quality of the light ) in color . His eyes appear chestnut . There is no way to understand the communication of color in a black and white film , other than to say that the communication of seeing is so fulsome , that nothing seems missing , and hey ! That's kinda like the film , huh ? We invent our reality . Rashomon is the film that catapulted Japanese film into the international cinematic consciousness , made a reputation for Kurosawa , launched Mifune to international stardom , and revolutionized cinematography . The sun and rain on Rashomon gate are there for you . Go and take a look .
    • 104 4  With a director as nimble as Kurosawa it is pretty important to find the best entry-way into his world for newcomers , lest they be alienated by a rather obscure and unrepresentative film like DREAMS ( which happened to me , incidentally ) . Rashomon is one of those entry-ways . It combines Kurosawa's taste for the medieval and his fascination with injecting the distinctly modern Toshiro Mifune into those settings . It's as though Kurosawa were saying : now let's take 12th century Japan , put Mifune there as a leonic psychopath , and see what happens . Well , in Rashomon a masterpiece happens : reality shatters into a thousand pieces . It is one of those films you will hear your entire life is all that and a bag of chips , and it is one where this accolade is actually true . There are plenty of masterful directors out there to whet the appetite for art , but it doesn't seem to me that there are many of them able to appeal to as broad a base as Kurosawa . Godard is so experimental he tends to appeal to a taste , like cinematic Guinness . Bergman is rarely mundane enough to be enjoyed by the man in the street . Bunuel is extremely intellectual , even when dealing with sex and obscure objects of desire . And so on . Rest assured that whoever you are or whatever your interests in film , be they purely hedonistic or more academic , Kurosawa in general and Rashomon in particular will give you much food to chew on . Good food . Great food .
    • 105 4  Kurosawa's study on the nature of truth , of reality , and human nature is perhaps one of the greatest films ever made . it is the story of a rape and a murder and that is all we ever know that occured during during the course of this movie . it tells the story from the perspectives of 4 sperate characters ; a woodcutter , a bandit , a man , and his wife . they all have different stories and we are never told who is really telling the truth . Because this is a story about the bleakness of human nature , the evil tendencies we have . but there is redemption in the end . according to what i've been told and have read this is the first film to have a shot that's pointed directly into the sunlight and to use light reflectors to help light the actors . it also gained noteriety for its phenominal camera work . I highly recommend you buy this this is a great film toanyone who enjoys an engrossing experience .
    • 106 4  Rashomon is a great cinematic feat . Filmed in 1950 and released here in the states in ' 51 , it was very ahead of it's time . Akira Kurosawa , probably best known here in the states for The Seven Samarai , creates a puzzling movie that the mind can't help but ponder over long after the movie is finished . The simple plot is about three people . A warrior , his wife and a bandit . The wife is raped , the warrior is murdered and the bandit is captured . The story is being narrated to us by two men , a woodsman and a priest , both who witnessed not only parts of the crime but also the testimony of the wife , the bandit and even the warrior ( via a medium ) in court . What this movie eventually becomes is an experiment on truth and reality . As all the testimonies contradict each other , we begin to doubt each person's reality . The story is told 5 different times , none of them in agreement , and what we begin to realize is that Kurosawa is trying to show us how our reality is altered by our perceptions . The extras on the DVD are great , Criterion has succeeded again in putting together a great deal of extras that add to a movie that would easily stand on its own . Robert Altman introduces the movie , and talks about why the movie is one of his favorites . Also , a Kurasawa expert , Donald Richie , has recorded a commentary that helps the viewer really appreciate the subtle nuances of Rashomon , little points like how much silent film influenced Kurosawa . This movie is a classic and has influenced film makers in the states for years . Once you see it , you too can't help but be influenced by it .
    • 107 4  This film is an excellent commentary on eyewitness testimony . I have often wished I could show it in a closing argument to a jury .
    • 108 4  I know this is far from a popular opinion , but I find this lauded classic to be quite sloppy . It's a messy , redundant film that has a deep message yet fails to really capitalize on its promise . I really expected ( especially with all the heaps of praise ) for this film to blow my mind , and sadly it did , just not in a good way . Can you say ` over the top ' ? Better yet , can you say ` unnecessary ' ? Telling the tragic tale of a rape and murder through the eyes of fur separate people who were either party to or witness to the crime , ` Rashomon ' feels desperate in its attempt to alienate our emotions and cast aside all logic . It is a film that begs you to get confused , because that is the point . The film basically tells you up front that truth is nothing more than a belief subject to our own interpretation . None of the stories told are wrong because they are ` as they see it ' and so we are not supposed to piece together this chaotic puzzle , we are just supposed to take in the ` deeper meaning ' Kurosawa presents to us . I would have loved to have done that , but I just couldn't . The film for me suffers in a few major areas . The pacing is an issue for me . Telling the same story four times becomes rather tedious and redundant . There could have been a better way to have constructed this film . While it is true that the four stories differ drastically , the inclusion of the same setting , scenery , characters and actions tends to grow tiresome . There isn't enough variety to completely reign in my attention . Another issue is the spastic acting . I have mentioned this issue before in previous reviews , but my opinion of Asian cinema is not as high as others . I find the unrealistically theatrical way they act these films to be rather off putting . It is chaotic to the enth degree . In some films it works , but in a film as deeply entrenched ( or so it would like to be ) in the raw emotional realism of ` truth ' I found the acting here to be distracting and out of place . What strikes me as even more ` hurtful ' to the films message is the fact that , when all is said and done , it fails to convey the message thoroughly enough to really make a valid impact . I got what Kurosawa was trying to say , but I didn't really ` feel ' it the way it is apparent he wanted me to . Visually , the film is stunning , and there are moments ( the ending and that medium scene ) that are stellar , but overall , ` Rashomon ' was a miss for me . It could have really been a beautiful spectacle , one that I would stand behind and laud immensely , but instead it remains one of those films I just ` don't get ' . I give it a C , thanks in part to initial concept , Kurosawa's visual direction and Noriko Honma's BRAVE performance . I think I'm being generous .
    • 109 4  This is an excellent movie with lots of deep meaning . Intriguing and wonderful . The director is genius
    • 110 4  The desire to plumb the depths of the terrible unknowable nature of truth is the subtle theme of this classic whose title has become part of our film vocabulary . If you have not seen this film you cannot consider your movie education anywhere near complete . Kurowasa probably made five or six of the greatest films in just about any top ten films list , but this is the masterpeice that he will be remembered for hundreds of years in the future .
    • 111 4  Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon is brilliant ( whether you're willing to spend the $ [ money ] for the sometimes-jittery Criterion version is up to you ) , but is often used as fodder to all sorts of slippery arguments about the relativity of truth . Baloney . I think Akira would have called these arguments baloney , too . The concepts of relativity and dishonesty are very different things . The hell that the characters refer to in the story is not the impossibility of there being any sort of final truth . . . that is NOT what they are saying . Reality doesn't actually shift to accomodate different perspectives . . . when an event takes place , it only takes place ONE way . There is only one course of events . . . and the characters who took part in it KNOW what really happened . I disagree with the ( slightly pompous ) commentator on the DVD who says the characters fully believe in their own stories . . . if so , why does the wood cutter act so guilty ? Instead , the film is about Dishonesty . . . it is about people's inability to be completely honest with themselves and with others . THAT is the hell they refer to . Each character's ego interferes as he ( or she ) recounts the storyline . It has to do with self-interest and deceit , not some wacky notion of existential subjectivity . Don't let the armchair philosophers ruin this movie for you ! It is a suspenseful , well-acted , beautifully shot film with unexpected plot twists and a lot of great atmosphere . If you can find it , I highly recommend another Kurosawa gem entitled Ikiru .
    • 112 4  Often regarded along Seven Samurai as one of the greatest Japanese films ever made , Rashomon still stands strong even today . Part of this is the acting , but the main reason is of course the masterful storytelling by Akira Kurosawa through his directing and his screenwriting with Shinobu Hashimoto . Here is quintessential Kurosawa , with his classic camera angles , scene compositions , the narrative method of showing rather than telling , and basic philosophy . It was also a major introduction to the west of Japanese film and became an international success , gaining worldwide attention to Japanese cinema and Toshiro Mifune in particular . Though many take it at face value as a murder mystery or a simple tale of different points of views , Kurosawa meant for it to be much deeper than that . Rashomon is , among other things , a poignant look on man's reason for lying . All of the storytellers in this film lie to some extent . The question is : why ? Why spin so much ? And why must each story center around themselves ? The fact is , in the end , you never really know what happens , because these characters themselves cannot even recall what happened . They have all become so absorbed into their own fantasized retellings that truth is no longer a word to them . I don't need to tell you , though - you can see it for yourself . The DVD features commentary by Donald Richie ( The Films of Akira Kurosawa ) who offers some insight into the film , along with some documentaries . The booklet contains information from Stephen Price and Kurosawa himself on the film , as well as the original literary stories . Among the other special features is an optional English dub - yes , that's right , a dubbed Kurosawa film . Oh the horror . . . and horrors indeed . The Commoner sounds like a frog , and the priest sounds like any minute he'll end a sentence with . . . Grasshopper . Even worse is Tajomaru's dub . I think he was trying to sound Japanese - he sounds constipated . Sorry , but you can't dub Toshiro Mifune or Takashi Shimura any more than you can dub Anthony Hopkins or Robert Duvall . All in all , for Kurosawa fan or film buff alike , a good film .
    • 113 4  The recent Criterion release of Rashomon was , to me at least , very satisfying . While others are not totally satisfied with the picture quality , it's not really bad at all . It was , after all , a small scale low budget film ( Kurosawa was still a relative new-comer - probably along the lines of Spielberg after Jaws ) , but there is nothing in the lines of picture and sound that detract from the viewing experience . And that experience is indeed a memorable one , between the artful collaboration of Kurosawa and Miyagawa . The four accounts of the incident are like the filming of the characters going into the forest . . . . almost mystical , and surreal with strong contrasts in sunshine and shade , the sunlight ( truth . . . . ? ) itself being obstructed by the mysteries of the forest . The disc includes an intro by Robt . Altman , some material with Kazuo Miyagawa , the cinematographer , and an interesting commentary by film historian Donald Ritchie . The accompanying booklet has , among other things , selections from Kurosawa's autobiography and the original two short stories upon which Rashomon is based . While certainly not definitive , there is enough material to whet the appetite ( at least ) to one of filmdom's truly great masters , and is nothing that Criterion needs to be ashamed of !
    • 114 4  . . . one of the best movies ever made . . . anywhere . Powerful acting , a thought-provoking rumination on the nature of memory , truth and self , and the gorgeous work of Kurosawa make this a masterpiece . It has stood the test of time remarkably well . . . It is neither dated nor has it lost any of its ' power over the years . Spellbinding ! ! ! ! ( I have never employed that overused often pretentious word before , but Rashomon actually deserves the praise ) .
    • 115 4  Rashomon is quite simply an amazing piece of filmmaking . Kurosawa was nothing less than a master at his craft . At a technical viewpoint it is an amazing film , the same story is told in 4 different ways by 4 different characters , each of them trying to paint themselves in the best possible light . The camerawork is also amazing , notice for example the shots when a character is walking through the woods in the beginning , there is no dialogue , the sequence is long , there are amazing shots of the sun through the trees , the camera movement is flawless . Notice also how he plants his camera in the prison sequences , a la ' Ozu ' ( low level steadishots ) and how the camera can barely stay still in the woods sequences . The beginning of the film in the apocalyptic storm is overpowering in its effect . The dialogue and acting are also pitchperfect . Notice how actors in Kurosawa films always seem to be screaming their dialogue or laughing in an over the top manner , Kurosawa wasn't aiming for realism ( like Ozu does ) , he's out to make a point and he does it so well , that it shows in how well his films have crossed over to western audiences . This is the first japanese film that was widely seen by american audiences and won the academy award for foreign film , not to mention introducing the great Toshiro Mifune to cinema and beginning arguably the best filmmaking pair ever ( not counting Scorsese / DeNiro ) with Kurosawa / Mifune , which would go on and make lots of films together . Also the tremendous impact this film has had on the film infustry alone is enough to consider it a classic . Even so , it's ability to move audiences of all nationalities and through the decades , speaks very well of how Kurosawa handled his themes . In it's 90 min . of running time , this film tells you more about human nature than most any film will , it has all the richness that reading a good book might give you , and it is cinematically amazing . If you like this film , I recommend ' Seven Samurai ' for Kurosawa or ' Tokyo Story ' for more great Japanese cinema . A solid 9.8 out of 10 !
    • 116 4  Rashomon is one of those movies you hear allusions to at cocktail parties or see references made to in The Village Voice , and you are chagrined because you don't know what everyone else seems to be carrying on about . Then I saw that NYC's Film Forum was showing Rashomon as part of a Kurasawa festival : I said to myself , TutorGal it's now or never ! So I rounded up my friend Renee the psychotherapist and went . Wow ! Yes , it's clear to see why this movie was such a revelation back in 1950 - 1 when it appeared on the scene . Compare it , for example , to 1950 ' s Oscar winner , All About Eve . At the outset of Eve , we're introduced to a tableful of people at an award show , looking at the two-faced Eve accept her award . As we go round the table , we hear every character's thoughts about Eve , and then go back in time to that part of the story . The story , however , moves forward chronologically ; we never revisit a scene , either , to see if somebody else perceived it differently . Well , that IS what the hoopla was about with Rashomon . We start with three men meeting during a rainstorm in a deserted building . Two tell the third man about the murder trial where they've just given evidence . Then we go back in time to the trial , where we see the various witnesses and the defendant tell their versions of what happened . As they do , we return over and over to the scene of the crime , and each time the murder is enacted differently . The idea of presenting multiple perspectives of the same incident was ground-breaking for 1950 , and has been imitated over the years , but rarely as well as in the original , Rashomon . I felt I had to brace myself for seeing this movie , because I read it was about a murder AND a rape , and I balked at seeing a rape scene ( yet how many murders would you say you and I have both seen in movies , huh ? ) . However , I was relieved to see that the rape is never shown ; that part of the story is always over by the time we revisit the scene . In fact , the woman doesn't even appear to be disheveled . The IDEA of the rape is the important thing , not its enactment on screen . Some have commented on the amount of apparent overacting and screaming going on with both the woman character and Mifune's bandit , but it didn't bother me too much . All in all , this was my first excursion into classic Japanese cinema ( unless you would count all those Godzilla and Gidra movies as classics of a sort ) , and it was not only interesting anthropologically , but entertaining as well . Rashomon is an excellently made movie , and one which every serious movie-goer had ought to see .
    • 118 4  A rather wierd film with histrionic acting , exaggerated facial gestures , outbursts of creepy laughter and an obtuse philosophy . Yes , I undestand the basic premise , but the execution itself is flawed . Somewhat interesting insofar as dealing with Japanese customs and rituals with which most of us be might be unfamiliar . The only real reason to view this film is that it's been deemed a Classic - - so it's good to find out what all the fuss is about . And make up your own mind .
    • 119 4  I've heard about this 1950 Japanese film all my life and have even incorporated the word Rashomon into my vocabulary . It means that the truth is elusive and people will remember things with their own particular spin . When the film first came out it was nominated for an academy award and is still considered the masterpiece of the director Akira Kurosawa . Shot in black and white , the mood is set right at the beginning , as there's a rainstorm going on and a priest and a woodcutter are seeking shelter in an ancient temple . Both of them are troubled , as they have heard witnesses to a crime explain events that they just don't understand . When a third man joins them , they tell their stories . Eventually the audience watches the reenactment of four different versions of the same incident . At the end , there is still confusion . The acting is done in classical Japanese style , which is more appropriate for a large auditorium than for a small screen . The actors shout , they roll their eyes , and every gesture is exaggerated . There's passion throughout and a great mythic theme . It seemed all to be set on a great stage . And the interesting part is that three out of the four people telling the story claim to be the killer . The cinematography is also special , using the rain as one realm of reality and harsh sunlight as another . The woods in which the crime takes place look hot and stifling , and the actors are all excellent . However , once the novelty of the setting and the dramatic elements of this stylized film wore off , I found myself restless . It was only 83 minutes long but it seemed much longer . I do applaud its art and its message . I therefore recommend it . However , I just can't help the fact that it didn't engage me completely .
    • 120 4  Warning : This review contains spoilers-plot details are revealed . On the other hand , the metaphysics of this melodrama is such that even when you know what happened in the movie you don't know what happened in the movie , so that's not really a problem . The mystery of the story can be summed up with a simple question : Who stabbed the samurai Takehiko Kanazawa ? The short story the movie is based on , Yabu no Naka ( In a Grove ) gives three versions of the rape of a woman and the death of her husband , one from each of the three participants : A samurai , his wife , and the bandit . The movie adds a fourth version told by a woodcutter who is not in the original story , whom I shall ignore for now and return to later . I was actually a bit surprised by this movie , having heard many times of it as the story of competing realities , how different people can view the same events differently . I therefore expected I might see several disinterested witnesses recount different , but ultimately compatible , versions of the same event . Perhaps one witness saw the beginning , a second witness the end , and a third witnessed the entire event . Under those circumstances , different interpretations would certainly be possible . Or perhaps one witness could see something from his vantage point that others couldn't from theirs . On the contrary , the three versions are presented by the participants , who are certainly not disinterested , and naturally have motives to distort the truth . And the three versions are irreconcilable : if any one is telling the truth , the other two cannot be . Contrary to the suggestion that different realities might be at play , at least two of the three participants must be lying . For example , there is no mental distortion that would make a man who was stabbed in a long , violent sword fight think he had dejectedly stabbed himself after long lonely contemplation . The story is a mystery with a strange twist . Each of the three participants confesses to the stabbing ! So any solution to the mystery needs not only to explain why the culprit did it , but also why the other two innocents confessed to it . In the movie , Kurosawa has told us which version he believes is true by creating the woodcutter , who is not in the original story . The woodcutter , once he admits stealing the woman's short sword - thus clearing up a minor mystery in the short story ( who took the woman's sword ? ) , has no apparent reason to lie . He then tells a tale that is essentially the tale as told by the bandit Tajomaru . They both agree the man was stabbed in a fair swordfight instigated by the woman after she was raped . Their stories differ only in some details Tajomaru left out . In the woodcutter's version , the two men are reluctant to fight , showing some fear of each other . The woman has to goad them both , questioning each his manhood , before the fight commences . Tajomaru would understandably want to conveniently omit this goading as evidence of his own fear . It is also to his benefit to omit the samurai's fearfulness , since the braver the opponent , the more noteworthy the victory . Tajomaru's version of the swordfight understandably omits the clumsiness and nervousness in the woodcutter's version , but a blow-by-blow description with no psychological speculation would be essentially identical . So the swordfight in Rashomon gives the only rashomonesque scenes in the film . So if the bandit killed the samurai , why would the samurai say , in his message from the dead as transmitted by a medium , he'd killed himself ? Probably for the sake of his name . He lost honor enough when he was tricked by the bandit , and failed to prevent the rape of his wife . To have then lost a swordfight when no trickery was involved would have also made him incompetent at his vocation . In Japanese culture , suicide is an acceptable method of regaining lost honor and it does not have the approbation it receives in the West-in fact , the author of the story , Ryunosuke Akutagawa , later died by suicide himself . So an atoning suicide was better than losing a fair fight to a common thief . The wife's lying is more problematical . Why would she take the blame for Tajomaru's deed ? Perhaps she was angry at her husband for not preventing her rape , so wanted to add insult to injury by saying he was killed by a woman . This would be the same motive that caused her to instigate the fight to begin with , and she punished her husband further by denying his reputation the death in honorable combat . The short story was left completely open , with no hint as to who to believe , so I like that version better , but the movie is masterful and will keep you thinking , almost as much as the short story , where it feels you could certainly know who to believe if you could only figure out who has the woman's sword .
    • 121 4  This will be short and to the point - If you call yourself a movie fan than watch Rashomon . IT is a true example of pure cinema magic . You won't regret it !
    • 122 4  Rashomon was the second Akira Kurosawa film I have seen after Yojimbo and I am proud to call it my best film experience so far . The plot is amazing and leaves the audience stunned with its mystery long after the film has ended . The screenplay and photography is wonderfull along with the incredibly amazing acting staff that really gave me a new perspective on films and how strong they seem . I really love this movie and is recommended very strongly . A stunning Masterpiece of a Film , everything is good about it and you wont get dissapointed .
    • 123 4  After watching Rashmon and 7 Samurai . . . it was no wonder that Kirosawa is the most acclaimed director of the East . Though the movie was made at a time of Black and white . . . its story and cinematography was surprisingly unconventional and could rival any Hollywood movie of mordern times . It had a story that you will find exciting enough to glue you to the screen to know the ending . When it ended you find yourselve so empty that you actually still do not know the real truth . In the end you'll never know what actually happened . Trying to piece the truths together prove to be impossible just like any truths you might hear in the mordern times . However , the 3 stories which made up the film work better if it had more grey areas . Its was pretty unbelievable that the three stories could be so different though the idea that the truth will never be the truth is a theme that would never go out of date , but just simply not very popular among mordern movie makers . Its a better and more thought provoking movie than the more popular 7 Samurai and I would recommend to all this classic that have as theme that would never go out of date
    • 125 4  I just want to comment on the quality and speed of delivery aspect in this case . It was very professional indeed . It is a good . . . NO . . . great delivery system . We are very appreciate on how u guys handle . ( Even though we are in Indonesia ) . Once again , Thanks !
    • 126 4  A Warrior , his Wife , and a Thief encounter each other in a forest . The Wife is raped and the Warrior dies . Establishing who is responsible for what and what truly happened proves difficult , if not impossible . Through a series of flashbacks and stories-within-stories we come close to learning the ` truth , ' learning the limitations of ` truth ' in the process . I approached RASHOMON with a certain amount of trepidation . I watched it years and years ago and don't remember much about the first viewing . I'm happy to report that RASHOMON can be enjoyed without notepad or textbook . It's a beautiful looking black-and-white film that was more or less Kurosawa favorite Toshiro Mifune's coming out movie . Mifune plays the Thief with a full palette . As the various stories unfold , the Thief ranges from noble to craven , from hysterical to plotting . Sometimes Mifune seems a little . . . excessive to me , but sooner or later I catch up with what he's doing . In other words , he's brilliant , and repeated viewings won't catch him playing it false . And if there's ever been a movie that rewards repeat viewers , it's RASHOMON . There are classics and there are Classics , and Akira Kurosawa's RASHOMON is a 600 - pound lumbering giant of a Classic . Capital-C Classics can be a little intimidating and more than a little disappointing . RASHOMON can be enjoyed without digging deep into it . The commentary track by Donald Richie is informative , if a little didactic . He tends to tell us what we're seeing , although he compensates by also letting us know what to look for in repeated viewings . The introduction by Robert Altman could probably have been dispensed with without too much harm - basically it's six minutes of Altman telling us how much he likes the movie . The except from The World of Kazuo Miyagawa is interesting and abrupt .
    • 127 4  This is the type of movie that will make you think . For those that want to disengage their brain and be entertained - look elsewhere . This is an intriguing movie where the witnesses of horrific act each tell their own version of what happened . The story takes a peek into how the mind copes with what it can't understand ( or isn't ready to ) . For those unfamiliar with Kurosawa's work , this film is a masterpiece . Kurosawa makes clever use of the camera in building the audience's suspense in a very similar fashion to what Alfred Hitchcock did . Contemporary audiences may find this technique more agitating than viewers in the 1950 ' s as audience attention spans have shrunk - however this only makes the technique more effective . For those seeking a psychological exploration of the human mind at it's worst ( and best ) , you will definitely enjoy this film . It bears resemblance to classic greek plays where the audience is asked to think and reflect rather than be whirled around on ride like modern films . For film students , it is an first-hand example of innovation in film-making technique and dramatic effect .
    • 128 4  If your a beginning film buff looking to expand into Japanese films or a Japanese film sage this is the DVD for you . Based on Akutagawa's short story In A Grove , Kurosawa has transferred the page deftly and seamlessly to film . Short ( compared to other Kurosawa films ) and easy to understand ( hint : lighting { or lack thereof } and angles ) make it enjoyable for anyone wanting to explore CINEMA .
    • 129 4  Or for that matter , what is the truth ? Director Akira Kurosawa leaves this for the viewer to decide . As the films narrative moves forward , we all know that a crime has been committed , and more importantly , by whom . So what is Kurosawa out to prove in this masterful film ? That everyone has a different view of the truth ? Perhaps some of us embellish the truth ? Or possibly something altogether different ? In Akira Kurosawa's film , Rashomon , the viewer is introduced various witnesses to the rape of a woman , and the murder of her husband . Why are there different interpretations by the various witnesses to the crime in the film ? Are they lying ? Or is there a mixture of both lies and truths ? Director Akira Kurosawa has left this for the audience to decide . This is a great film , however , I do not believe that it is Kurosawa's greatest film . Ikiru , holds that distinction - - - for me at least . Rashomon has always been one of the most talked about films in Japanese cinema , and many place it amongst the greatest films ever , be it foreign or domestic . This films narrative is an attempt to let the viewer decide who is telling the truth , or why the different characters each have a different interpretation . But why are they all different ? There have been many different opinions of this film , and even after all these years since its release , this film has been discussed at length . So what is Kurosawa out to prove ? That even the innocent may have something to hide ? Or that our perceptions of reality differ ? The film starts off with a man that has just testified to a horrible crime . And from here the film begins innocently enough with a woodcutter walking through the woods . This woodcutter is portrayed by the late , great actor , ( Takeshi Shimura ) . He is a witness to a crime . But he is not the only witness . There are four different versions of a murder and rape : the woodcutter , the deceased mans wife , the killer ( Toshiro Mifune ) , and the victim - - - through the use of a medium . The one thing I was really impressed with by this film , both at the time I first saw it many years ago , and recently again on this CRITERION DVD was the way Kurosawa used his camera . The way the woodcutter is walking through the forest , and especially the way the wind seems to capture the forest breathes life into the film . The forest appears to come alive as Takashi Shimura is walking through the woods . Plus , the way the wind blows and the sound of the rain falling at the beginning and ending of the film makes one feel they are part of the forest itself . This film will be talked about as long as cinema exists , and many will give their own interpretations of the film . For me , however , the film is telling in many ways , as each of the characters have something to hide : be it their own perception of the truth , or their unwillingness to come to terms with the truth : Be it guilt or shame . Moreover , I really like the way that Kurosawa uses the non-verbal area of the film : The visuals themselves . As in many Kurosawa films , the cinematography does much of the talking - - - and just looking at the scenery , and trying not to focus too much on the dialogue ; one can see that Kurosawa relies heavily on the visuals themselves , as they are as much , if not more , of the story . As for who is telling the truth ? And why are there different versions ? This I leave for others to decide for themselves . [ Stars : 4.5 ]
    • 131 4  Rashamon is an incredibly influential film . In 1951 it seemed odd indeed with its five points of view , it's camera movement , it's melancholy theme , rape and murder . There is also a self-mocking element to the Samurai sword fighting and Kimono doll histrionics . The overacting is actually snide sarcasm about Japanese film or societal convention . Japanese film folks were surprised Western viewers grasped these ideas . After all , American Westerns have their formal rituals , the gunfight at noon , the horsy loner , and so on . 12th Century Samurai and their sword fighting , the status of women in Japan , their victimization , all is standard film fare in the East . This one is a thoughtful film with interesting , original cinematography , but for those looking for huge battles as shown in the later Ran , this one is a Perry Mason court case .
    • 132 4  A powerful , moving film . I recommend this film to all . Its ability to capture the darkness of the human condition is stunning . A beautiful transfer to digital .
    • 133 4  I have always loved Kurosawa's Samurai movies . From Yojimbo to the Samurai Trilogy , from Ran to Seven Samurai . I think his greatest two movies though are not samurai but more realistic ( down to earth ) movie dealing with the human mind . Red Beard is one and Rashomon is the other . I think Rashomon is a great movie to sit down and watch over and over again just to try and figure out the true answer in the movie . Yes , yet another movie that Director Kurosawa-san brought out Mifune-san as one of the lead actors , although this was one of the early years . I beleive that Toshiro Mifune is the greatest actor of all time . I beleived that he was a compassionate doctor in Red Beard , a very strong Miyamoto Musashi , and even a Noble Makabe Rokuroto in Hidden Fortress . In Rashomon , I actually beleived he was a little son of a gun thief and lunatic . Another good , but short role is played by Minoru Chiaki . It seems that he always gets the same role and always short . He also stars in a few other movies with Mifune / Kurosawa .
    • 134 4  The film will make you contemplate the perspective of others as they recount events , as much as the words they use to retell their tales . Desire fear contribute signigicant influence over the retelling of events in our lives , and better than any other , this film exposes and contemplates the issues surrounding the truth .
    • 135 4  In my top ten movies of all time . I would say that this is Kurosawa's masterwork . Obviously he has created many classic films , but this simply , for me , defines what he was all about . The DVD itself is extremly well done , with a commentary by Robert Altman . Highly Recommended .
    • 136 4  This review is from : Rashomon - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) This was a difficult movie to rate because the concept was excellent and well-presented but I felt the movie lacked a little to maintain the interest of the viewer from start to finish . As such , I found myself looking and thinking ahead rather than focussing on the current scene on the screen . This is an older movie which should be appreciated for what a masterful work it was in its ' time . It hasn't lost much during its ' tenure but the texture of this black and white movie has seen better days . The acting is very good and , to better appreciate it , I watched it in Japanese with sub-titles . The DVD has other options for viewing including English dubbing . I will probably look at that option the next time I view it . The story is simple yet complex . There is a rape and murder in the countryside . The story of what happened is related by four witnesses including , in a very impressive use of make-up , the deceased himself . Everyone's story is slanted towards their role in the events . The participants tend to see themselves as victims and so the truth looks different depending on who is telling the story . This is the magnificence of the movie . There are three persons who serve as a sort of narration and editorial team which helps give the movie greater impact . The story begins in a poring rain with the story-line just as dismal . It ends with the sun shinning and we are given a note of hope to finish up with . In my line of work , I have become accustomed to hearing many a complaint . I have learned ( the hard way ) not to pass judgement until I hear the other side ( or in some cases sides ) of the story . Sometimes I get lied to but often the differences come from individual's perspectives of how they are affected by the events in question . Some people feel themselves a victim in many cases . Still other feel responsible for many things completely beyond their control . Rashomon reminds us that all is not necessarily as it seems . It is a short ( 88 minutes ) but effective treatise on the subject .
    • 137 4  This was a difficult movie to rate because the concept was excellent and well-presented but I felt the movie lacked a little to maintain the interest of the viewer from start to finish . As such , I found myself looking and thinking ahead rather than focussing on the current scene on the screen . This is an older movie which should be appreciated for what a masterful work it was in its ' time . It hasn't lost much during its ' tenure but the texture of this black and white movie has seen better days . The acting is very good and , to better appreciate it , I watched it in Japanese with sub-titles . The DVD has other options for viewing including English dubbing . I will probably look at that option the next time I view it . The story is simple yet complex . There is a rape and murder in the countryside . The story of what happened is related by four witnesses including , in a very impressive use of make-up , the deceased himself . Everyone's story is slanted towards their role in the events . The participants tend to see themselves as victims and so the truth looks different depending on who is telling the story . This is the magnificence of the movie . There are three persons who serve as a sort of narration and editorial team which helps give the movie greater impact . The story begins in a poring rain with the story-line just as dismal . It ends with the sun shinning and we are given a note of hope to finish up with . In my line of work , I have become accustomed to hearing many a complaint . I have learned ( the hard way ) not to pass judgement until I hear the other side ( or in some cases sides ) of the story . Sometimes I get lied to but often the differences come from individual's perspectives of how they are affected by the events in question . Some people feel themselves a victim in many cases . Still other feel responsible for many things completely beyond their control . Rashomon reminds us that all is not necessarily as it seems . It is a short ( 88 minutes ) but effective treatise on the subject .
    • 138 4  Maybe there's no ' absolute truth ' which exists independent of our mind . Maybe those turths we think we have in our mind is just an illusion formed by our desire . We see many people suffer and even die becuase of what they thought was truth , but was not . We fear that obscurity , that helplessness . Men seems to be all bunch of hypocrats . Hey , but our existence is absolute , whatever the truth ourside our mind is . And we can get back our faith in human while we try to preserve human existence . By keeping the ' baby ' .
    • 139 4  This film is mysteriouse . . . we have four different versions of a crime , told in wonderfull flashbacks by the people conserned and a witness , every version tells something new that we did not know and we start to understand what happened ; yet we are pulled more and more from the truth everytime we hear one they even are contradictory at times , we are lost just like the characters in the film seeking for what realy happened . . . ; the acting is excellente and Toshiro Mifune is perfect , his character is the sort of dramatic scale in the story . . . will we ever know the truth ? we don't know perhaps not . . . but thats what gives the film it's charm , because the truth is and will remain hidden deep inside the heart of the film . . . tough the film might hide the truth at times theire is one truth that one knows after watching . . . it's that this film is a tresor . . .
    • 140 4  Rashomon was the second Akira Kurosawa film I have seen after Yojimbo and I am proud to call it my best film experience so far . The plot is amazing and leaves the audience stunned with its mystery long after the film has ended . The screenplay and photography is wonderfull along with the incredibly amazing acting staff that really gave me a new perspective on films and how strong they seem . I really love this movie and is recommended very strongly . Without doubt , this is one of the most wonderfull films to ever exist . Watch it and be prepared for a emotional experience
    • 141 4  This film has set a precedent in film making . A masterpiece in every sense of the word .
    • 142 4  This really is a work of art , from a film-making and acting perspective , but the DVD comes up short in several areas . I won't get into Rashomon as a work of art , as it has been amply covered in other posts . But the Criterion Collection DVD itself suffers a bit in several respects : shakiness in the opening title scenes and some early shots of the temple ( which I believe is the result of the film conversion process , rather than shaky camerawork ) and the 1.3 / 1 aspect ratio . This latter is particularly irritating in the courtyard testimony scenes , when the other witnesses are cut off , but is also apparent in some of the fight scenes . And imagine how glorious those dappling-sunlight-through-the-trees scenes would have been in widescreen ! A shame . On the other hand , the DVD extras such as the Altman commentary and interview with the cinematographer are welcome additions .
    • 144 4  A viewer said Simply put this movie is 50 minutes too long . Well , that's not the way _ I _ remembered it .
    • 145 4  The word Rashomon has long become a must-have-and-used word in the Orient as to interpretate the very same thing by different person with different point of views . The word Rashomon , in modern days in America , can be used to explain how the Republican and the Democratic Parties to view and pitch or approach any agenda so differently such as Tax Cut , Health Care , Social Security , Foreign Policy , National Defense ( oh , shall I say , the newly popularated Homeland Security by the Republican government ? ) . The word Rashomon can also be miserably used to explain why the Islamic people hate the Jews or Americans , but we Jews or Americans never hate anybody but themselves when watching a NFL or NBA game won by the teams they never like or support enough to buy their merchandise . The word Rashomon only tell us , there always some other different explanations or views by different persons , in different ages , sex , moods , or in different time frames . Nothing is absolutely right or wrong , only depend upon where , how , why you choose to stand . The word Rashomon is a too deep philosophic word , yet a word you should grap at a certain moment or certain time to remind you and all of us , always leave some room or space to yourself and others , your world is sometime not the exactly world other people live in . Your very own birthday is already long past 24 hours earlier in the Far East , 3 hours ago in the East Coast , 2 hours ago in Central region . Even almost every single track house looks alike to the next or around , the furniture in each house is never the same . Rashomon is also the word to remind you how important the word Tolerance is .
    • 146 4  While I love Kurosawa's samurai films and the great Kagemusha , I think Rashomon is overrated , probably because 1 ) people who watch it already heard it was good , and 2 ) the cultured Western audience finds the story and acting exotic enough to be fascinating . I cannot say I dislike the film ; in fact I like it . But I think the acting is over dramatic and the camera shots too staged . The acting in particular irks me , much like that in Ran , because it looks too much like kabuki on stage . But Rashomon does have its style ; it's just not a style I find comfortable with . The best part about Rashomon is its masteful editing techniques , which hides quite a few continuity flaws . In the end , very few of my Asian friends - - esp . Japanese - - like the movie because they view it portraying Asians in a negative light . I think this is something to be kept in mind as you watch it .
    • 147 4  This is a fairly good movie , ridiculously overrated . It is the story of a bandit's assault on a couple in the woods . Perhaps he rapes the woman . Perhaps he kills the man . Perhaps the woman prefers the rapist to her husband . Perhaps not . The most annoying thing about the analysis of this movie is that people come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as absolute truth , that it all depends on who is telling the story . Baloney . There is such a thing as absolute truth . It doesn't all depend on who is telling the story . The opposing view is just a bunch of over-intellectualized garbage . Either the bandit killed the man or he didn't . Either the woman asked him to kill her husband or she didn't . Those who take an opposing view are just being silly and stupid . They are over-intellectualizing . Keep it simple , stupid . How about this . I punch you in the head . Then I say I didn't do it , it all depends on who is telling the story . Make sense to you ? That's the argument being used by fools who draw idiotic conclusions after seeing this movie . It is the quantum theory of movies . There is no truth . It is one of the stupidest positions that Stephen Hawking ever took . You can't just say that one thing happened . Every possible thing happened . Gimme a break . Would a grain of common sense be inappropriate ? It seems clear that the overly heroic version told by the bandit , about his daring swordfight , about the woman begging to be his wife after she was raped by him , is a bunch of bull , because he has a motive to tell things this way . His motive is to paint himself as the kind of hero he admires . Nobody really tells a convincing story here . One thing I like about the movie is that one of the witnesses is a trance medium who channels the dead man . He should know what happened , and he should have no motive to lie . What was his story anyway ? You hear so many stories , you forget who told what . Did he say it was suicide ? If the movie had more emotional power , I'd care more what happened to the characters . It is emotionless . That is its biggest weakness . It is a bit of a comedy . The acting is overdone . The duels are overdone . The director was consciously making fun of the genre , of the Japanese movies that stage stupid duels with the same stock things happening , the sword getting stuck , the men chasing each other around a tree , one guy falling , sort of like old cowboy movies that keep showing you similar fight scenes . The woman getting blamed for her own rape . So many cliches pulled out for us . A lot of in jokes for the viewer , making fun of the same old same old in Japanese films . In the end , they pull a baby out of a hat . The baby has absolutely nothing to do with the film . Nothing . It isn't the raped woman's baby . It is so completely incongruous to the rest of the movie that I thought it must be the raped woman's baby somehow , but it isn't . It's just a baby pulled out of a hat . On the commentary , the speaker makes a big deal about how the baby symbolizes hope , and how great Kurosawa is for thinking of using this baby to symbolize hope . What a bunch of baloney that is . It is over-intellectualized nonsense . The diagonals that are shown on screen , the triangles that are shown on screen , all further the plot , all show the greatness of Kurosawa . No they don't . It is all over-intellectualized nonsense . Diagonals and triangles do not make a great film . They just give lecturers something to flimflam their audiences with . I don't doubt that Kurosawa used these diagonals and triangles purposely . I don't care either . It's just a bunch of baloney . I'm not emotionally moved by a triangle , nor even by a diagonal . The subtlety of it is just a wee bit too subtle to make an impact on me . To sum up , this is a pretty interesting movie that is ridiculously overrated . To be great , a movie should move us . This one doesn't . It's pretty good . That's about it . Kurosawa fans be damned , I'm not lining up behind him .
    • 148 4  Akira Kurosawa loved rain . From the opening shot , rain is used to mask thought . There's no doubt about it . Rashomon is a very strange film . It feels ' different ' . Rashomon is the story of a man's death told from four different points of view . A man takes his wife through a forest when they encounter a bandit , Tajomaru , played by Toshiro Mifune , Kurosawa's favourite actor . The events which take place between that moment and the death of the man are unknown . Four recollections are told from Tajomaru's point of view , the man's wife point of view , the man's spirit point of view , and , finally , from the peasant who is out collecting firewood and sees the incident . Every character tells his or her story to appear as if they've done nothing wrong . That's why it's difficult to believe any of them . The direction of the film is beautiful . Every scene is perfect , like a fairy tale ( one memorable scene is when the woman spins around in the dust and is possessed by her dead husband's spirit ) . Mifune's character , Tajomaru , is a rogue , full of mischief and animalism , basically what Mifune does best . Rashomon's quality lies in its philosophies of mankind . We're already living in hell and there's no such thing as truth , laughs one of the peasants , though , if you're not put off by thoughtful films , Rashomon is quite heavenly to watch .
    • 149 4  This movie seems so familiar to me for a lot of reasons and of them is the rain it made remember he days when i had nothing to if there is rain .
    • 150 4  Once you have passed through , you will be stripped of all pretense . This shocking movie leaves you wondering what has just happened . That it is able to do this in Japanese is all the more amazing . You are left looking at the shell of a destroyed society , wondering how it could have happened in the first place-and wondering if it is possible for man to learn his lessons .
    • 151 4  There may have been a bad bunch run off by Criterion . I bought the Special Edition . . . on April 13 . That copy had the picture breaking up very badly in the middle of Chapter 10 . I returned the disc on April 19 and was given another . The second copy also breaks up at the same place ( Chapter 10 - 1 hr , 10 min , 29 or 30 seconds into the movie ) . Twice in a row sounds like a fault in the pressing . Be warned . ( The rating only refers to the problem in the disk . I cannot praise the movie enough . This was one I was looking forward to on DVD and I hope they find and fix the problem soon so I can buy a better copy . ) Follow-up , 23 Apr 2002 . . . Criterion has been unable to duplicate this problem , and so far no one else has mentioned anything like this . I cannot rule out a problem with the player , but have reasons to consider it highly unlikely . That player ( Panasonic RV - 31 ) has been quite reliable and handles disks that would not even play on an earlier Sony machine . However , Criterion DID get back to me and said that they had tried , on in-house machines . I will try again , with a copy from another store in case this is a real problem confined to a very few disks . So , I stand by my warning , but suggest you try the disk , anyway . The rest of the disk is truly excellent , and if you get through chapter 10 without any problems , mine may have been a freak occurance .
    • 153 4  OK , OK , this is a classic film - - very influential , introducing ground breaking film techniques , and all that . And yes , it ushers in the New Age by convincing us all that there is no such thing as objective Truth - - just personal perspectives . But holy over-acting Batman ! Can anyone say that they ever , for one second , believed in these clownish characters ? I know - - I'm supposed to allow room for Japanese cultural standards of film making , but I have some Japanese friends , and THEY sure don't act anything like these over-the-top performances . Frankly my dear , I don't see what all the fuss is about . Blame me for being so ethnocentric , but I say skip this stuff and read Shakespeare instead .
    • 154 4  I recently read a review - - on Amazon.com , as a matter of fact , that called Rashomon nothing short of a masterpiece . I wouldn't go that far . I've heard this film classified as a bonafide classics . Old foreign films are my bag , baby , but I was phenomenally let down by Rashomon . The premise is very intriguing , which is why I chose to rent it in the first place . Besides , it's a Kurosawa . But it wasn't that good ! Come on , get off the masterpiece stuff . I didn't say it was terrible , it wasn't , but it's so over-rated , so MEDIOCRE that my head nearly exploded . Grrr . It don't seem like much of a classic to me .
    • 155 4  In Kurosawa's examination of good and evil , he missed the point , namely , that all men are evil . This is a film which featured four different accounts of a rape and murder , seeing it from different points of drunkeness . There are several reasons why this film is painful to watch . The first reason is the childish cinematography . I have a somewhat ambivalent reaction to it . Though the film is entertaining if the audience is gassed with sleeping fumes .
    • 156 4  If you are interested in film history , you might find this movie interesting since it is directed by Legendary director Kurosawa . If , however , you want to watch a good movie , then you should skip this , because this is absolutely one of the worst movies I've ever seen . The movie starts out with 3 bums seeking shelter from a downpour in a ruined temple . One of the bums tells the story of a murder victim he found and the resulting inquest . In his story , he tells of the 3 people involved in the crime : the bandit who is suspected of the murder ; the woman the bandit rapes ; and her husband , the murder victim . Each person tells their own version of events , including the murder victim who tells the story through a medium . Each version differs greatly . The problem with this movie is that it is boring , the plot is completely not interesting in the least , the acting is absolutely over-the-top atrocious , and none of the characters is even remotely likeable . And the fight scenes ! Oh my . It's like watching mentally disabled people trying to whack each other with sticks after drinking a fifth of whiskey . Falling , tripping , clumsily grappling and missing , and flailing around in the dirt like spastic monkeys . And while Kurosawa may indeed be a legend , I have to wonder why in the world he chose to do some of the things he did in this film . For example , when the bum begins to tell his tale , he says he was walking through the forest to cut some wood . The scene then cuts to a backflash of the bum walking through the woods . This walking-through-the-woods scene goes on FOREVER . It's just the bum . . . walking through the woods . . . from 1000 different angles . . . while incredibly annoying drum music is playing in the background . And that's all there is : bum , woods , walking , and drums , and it lasts a ridiculously long time . If that is an example of what good directing is , I'd hate to see what qualifies as bad directing . To sum up : I've seen Star Trek movies that are more artistic and more skillfully executed than this abysmal waste of 2 hours . You've been warned .
    • 157 4  Now before you come down on me for my low rating please know that I have a clear understanding of the plot and lesson this movie portrays about mankind . Simply put this movie is 50 minutes too long .
    • 158 4  The Bandit is so obinoxious , it's not even funny , the movie hardly mean't be laughable anyway
    • 159 4  I'm afraid I'll get a lot of heat from this , but if you liked this movie , you've lost your mind . I'm afraid all too often people are influenced by critics and intimidated by old black and white films with subtitles . Though it may be a ground-breaking style of film , that does not make it a good film . In a sad attempt to confuse the truth about the death of a man , Kurosawa frustrates audiences with a bad Twilight Zone episode ; too long and without that creepy plot twist so very needed . Best performance goes to the bad dubbing-over for the psychic .

  • This film is NOT an easy thing to watch . In English it is somewhat less effective and in Japanese one must contend with the subtitles . Still , I suggest the Japanese with subtitles . Be aware , however , that this is a highly visual film so avoid getting bogged down in the subtitles . More than any other film I have seen , Rashomon shows rather than tells , so be prepared to pay very close attention to seemingly small details . Like Kubrick , everything you see and the way you see it has been reduced or altered to be just what is needed for the story . In essence , this is a rather stark though epic production and it may take a few viewings to truly appreciate Rashomon's true splendor and significance . It is a short movie that I wished was longer though I was quite satisfied with the ending . WHAT THIS FILM IS ABOUT : [ Without giving away the plot of course . ] HOPE ! Through the re-enactment of some perceptional permutations and nuances of a tragic event we are almost left with the conclusion that human beings are fatally-flawed , evil , weak beings fueled by lust and driven with selfish motives and little else . THE MESSAGE OF HOPE : But then there is a ray of hope in the form of a helpless abandoned infant and what follows . What we see is intrinsically-flawed humans that through self-awareness may seek to improve their character . If this is true , maybe then through self-awareness , human flaws may be intrinsic but solvable over time making us flawed but NOT FATALLY FLAWED ! Sentience may over time be our deliverance in the form of character and integrity . If this is true , then humans are not naturally depraved and everything may not be preordained . Perhaps we are a kind of work-in-progress . What a nice thought , though Kurosawa gives it to us rather like castor oil . ABOUT THE DVD : This is a Criterion Collection DVD and that speaks for itself . Here , however , the best special feature is the rather large booklet that is included with the DVD . The transfer is excellent for a 55 - year-old black and white film and it is in Full Screen Format . LAST THOUGHTS : A FILM THAT MAY NEED TO BE SEE MORE THAN ONCE TO FULLY APPRECIATE ALSO RECOMMENDED TO VIEW : - - * EVERYBODY TELLS THE TRUTH , ALL IN THE FAMILY - episode 58 , 1973 - - * THE OUTRAGE , Martin Ritt , 1964
    • 003 4  RASHOMON , Kurosawa's classic existential masterpiece , is Japan's CITIZEN KANE . It offers some rather profound insights on the human condition while also being a technical and artistic tour de force . Like KANE , RASHOMON also uses a nonlinear , fragmented narrative to show the multiplicity and unfathomability of human nature . With an engaging murder mystery as its basis , RASHOMON should please film enthusiasts and novices alike . The restored video transfer on this Criterion DVD edition makes the film look as good as new . Blemishes that used to be on older video releases have been digitally cleaned up . Sharpness and contrast , while not spectacularly good , are excellent ( to provide a point of reference , it looks much cleaner than Criterion's SEVEN SAMURAI DVD ) . The original Japanese mono soundtrack is rather hissy , however . A cleaner English dub track is included , but voice acting is sub-par ( actually , in my opinion , terrible ; in one instance , it is even out of synch with the action ) . The analytical audio commentary by Donald Richie is well-rounded , covering the themes , photography , acting , editing , and music of the film . The booklet includes English tranlations of the two short stories that inspired the film , and an excerpt from Kurosawa's autobiography that pertains to RASHOMON . In a 16 - minute excerpt from a Japanese documentary about the film's cinematographer , various camera techniques used in the film are revealed . This DVD is encoded for Region 1 only . For those who keep track of things like this , Criterion has only made a handful of Region 1 DVDs , which include ARMAGEDDON , BRIEF ENCOUNTER , CHASING AMY , THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE , GIMME SHELTER , THE HIDDEN FORTRESS , HIGH AND LOW , KWAIDAN , NOTORIOUS , THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC , RASHOMON , THE ROCK , SAMURAI I , II , and III , SANJURO , SEVEN SAMURAI ( second printing ) , THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET , THE VANISHING , and YOJIMBO .
    • 009 4  Rashomon still contains hope that humankind on planet Earth may be a sort of WORK-IN-PROGRESS . FIRST OFF - This is the film where numerous perspectives / viewpoints of the same event illustrate rather persuasively how [ literally ] there are often two or more sides to most stories . The central event in this story has been the basis of many similar themes since . The Roshomon knock-off that is the most fun to watch and most illuminating to me is probably an episode of All IN THE FAMILY titled , EVERYBODY TELLS THE TRUTH . Of course , Archie Bunker does not deal in subtlety , so it is an interesting and comical take on the Roshomon theme . Another similar treatment , but this time a drama , is on the big screen and features Paul Newman , The Outrage , from 1964 , with William Shatner , Lawrence Harvey and Claire Bloom as co-stars . This film is hard to find , but well worth the effort . RAMBLING ON ABOUT RASHOMON : This film is NOT an easy thing to watch . In English it is somewhat less effective and in Japanese one must contend with the subtitles . Still , I suggest the Japanese with subtitles . Be aware , however , that this is a highly visual film so avoid getting bogged down in the subtitles . More than any other film I have seen , Rashomon shows rather than tells , so be prepared to pay very close attention to seemingly small details . Like Kubrick , everything you see and the way you see it has been reduced or altered to be just what is needed for the story . In essence , this is a rather stark though epic production and it may take a few viewings to truly appreciate Rashomon's true splendor and significance . It is a short movie that I wished was longer though I was quite satisfied with the ending . WHAT THIS FILM IS ABOUT : [ Without giving away the plot of course . ] HOPE ! Through the re-enactment of some perceptional permutations and nuances of a tragic event we are almost left with the conclusion that human beings are fatally-flawed , evil , weak beings fueled by lust and driven with selfish motives and little else . THE MESSAGE OF HOPE : But then there is a ray of hope in the form of a helpless abandoned infant and what follows . What we see is intrinsically-flawed humans that through self-awareness may seek to improve their character . If this is true , maybe then through self-awareness , human flaws may be intrinsic but solvable over time making us flawed but NOT FATALLY FLAWED ! Sentience may over time be our deliverance in the form of character and integrity . If this is true , then humans are not naturally depraved and everything may not be preordained . Perhaps we are a kind of work-in-progress . What a nice thought , though Kurosawa gives it to us rather like castor oil . ABOUT THE DVD : This is a Criterion Collection DVD and that speaks for itself . Here , however , the best special feature is the rather large booklet that is included with the DVD . The transfer is excellent for a 55 - year-old black and white film and it is in Full Screen Format . LAST THOUGHTS : A FILM THAT MAY NEED TO BE SEE MORE THAN ONCE TO FULLY APPRECIATE ALSO RECOMMENDED TO VIEW : - - * EVERYBODY TELLS THE TRUTH , ALL IN THE FAMILY - episode 58 , 1973 - - * THE OUTRAGE , Martin Ritt , 1964
    • 046 4  It would be difficult to over estimate this movie's effect on college age movie goers of the early 60s . In that age of conformity it confirmed some of their worst fears : That they were being turned into vegetables & parents & elders shouldn't be believed . Truth was used simply as a tool of the powerful . Truth was an exercise of power ; hence : Mutable . A few years later LA DOLCE VITA confirmed another suspicion that the behaviour of one's betters , when behind locked doors & away from the sight of their children , was atrocious . In this magnificent Kurosawa film set in 9th century Japan a nobleman & his wife traveling through a forest are set upon by a highwayman . The nobleman is killed , his wife raped & the whole thing is witnessed by a woodsman . The highwayman is later arrested & at his trial these incidents are examined & re-examined by having each of the 4 participants tell their version . The dead man speaks through the mouth of a medium . Each narrator relates the same incidents but in each telling the narrator becomes the protagonist & the nuances are different . How can one know the truth of anything ? And with each telling the puzzle deepens & becomes more & more fascinating . A word of warning : The wife's voice is chalk on slate & you may find yourself hitting the mute button . Also the music is by a Ravel ' wannabe ' . It's BOLERO written by a supremely untalented plagiarist . When the movie was first released here some exhibitors instructed projectionists to turn off the sound during long stretches without dialogue . ( Ravel was revered by the beats of the time . ) A stage version was produced on Broadway & later on many college campuses . And an American film version ( THE OUTRAGE ) was made with Paul Newman & Claire Bloom . RASHOMON as a concept entered the culture . Not to be missed .
    • 051 4  RAMBLING ABOUT RASHOMON : This film is not an easy thing to watch . In English it is somewhat less effective and in Japanese one must contend with the subtitles . Still , I suggest the Japanese with subtitles . Be aware , however , that this is a highly visual film so avoid getting bogged down in the subtitles . More than any other film I have seen , Rashomon shows rather than tells , so be prepared to pay very close attention to seemingly small details . Like Kubrick , everything you see and the way you see it has been reduced or altered to be just what is needed for the story . In essence , this is a rather stark though epic production and it may take a few viewings to truly appreciate Rashomon's true splendor and significance . It is a short movie that I wished was longer though I was quite satisfied with the ending . WHAT THIS FILM IS ABOUT : [ Without giving away the plot of course . ] HOPE ! Through the re-enactment of some perceptional permutations and nuances of a tragic event we are almost left with the conclusion that human beings are fatally-flawed , evil , weak beings fueled by lust and driven with selfish motives and little else . THE MESSAGE OF HOPE : But then there is a ray of hope in the form of a helpless abandoned infant and what follows . What we see is intrinsically-flawed humans that through self-awareness may seek to improve their character . If this is true , maybe then through self-awareness , human flaws may be intrinsic but solvable over time making us flawed but NOT FATALLY FLAWED ! Sentience may over time be our deliverance in the form of character and integrity . If this is true , then humans are not naturally depraved and everything may not be preordained . Perhaps we are a kind of work-in-progress . What a nice thought , though Kurosawa gives it to us rather like castor oil . ABOUT THE DVD : This is a Criterion Collection DVD and that speaks for itself . Here , however , the best special feature is the rather large booklet that is included with the DVD . The transfer is excellent for a 55 - year-old black and white film and it is in Full Screen Format .
    • 069 4  Regardless of whether you are a serious movie goer or not , you MUST watch this . Better watch it twice for better grip . Script is tight and the plot is simple but when we hear four different versions of a same incident from four different persons in the film , it is perplexing and even confusing . I watched this after a long time , still it was as fresh as when I watched it for the first time . The film on surface revolves around rather a simple incident of rape of wife of a samurai by a bandit and subsequent killing ( or suicide ? ) of the samurai by the bandit . However beneath the visuals , it deals with something more fundamental and abstract - that is of our perception of truth . When we describe or tell something , we may deliberately tell a false . That is simple . But we may tell something , that we BELIEVE to be true , but we MAY BE wrong in our perception in the beginning . This is a second type of lie ( or truth ? ) . When the film ends after delivering one of the finest example of imagery even by today's standard , we are also puzzled - like the woodcutter and the priest - within this conflict of apparent and real truth . Enjoyable is also the Japanese version of Ravel's Bolero used in the background score along with the brilliant photography . A MUST for everyone .
    • 074 4  This is one of the BEST movies I've ever seen . Although the rape and murder are told from four different perspectives , I left the movie thinking what really happened ( that is , what truly happened ) was actually yet another story .
    • 090 4  RASHOMON : One of many masterpiece sets from the six-feet tall Japanese film master perfectionist who had been around in the film making business for half century or so and rendered to viewers such classics as SEVEN SAMURAI ( Japanese warrior which was considered to be of higher in rank than merchant and peasant yet lower than priest / monk in feudal era hierarchy ) ; THE HIDDEN FORTRESS where duel scenes between Toshiro Mifune ' s character and his enemy inspired the subsequent face-to-face , dead or alive finale between Luke Skywalker and the Father of Darkness ( Darth Vader ) in Star Wars ; IKIRU ( To live ) - the story of a middle-aged , commercial-oriented business man / materialist who became enlightened for some reason from his final-staged cancer acknowledgement and firmly decided to leave his life-worthwhile mark by materializing the community school project for underprivileged children that had been put on hold for long before his FIN DE TEMPS eventually came ; RAN - the Japanese version of King Lear ; et al . RASHOMON tells the same story from different sources : the dead husband ghost ; his wife ; the bandit ; the peasant and leaves it all up to you to justify and select your version of truth-in-itself , if any , out of these four . Each one told the story just in ways to suggest own benefits , leading us to comtemplate which one is just more or less true , if any of these is true at all ( I know it sounds absurd for one to find it more or less true , yet no kidding ! ) . Considered to be way too avant-garde in its own decade the movie was originally released , due to the non-conventional story-telling sequence / screenplay ( More or less like Pulp Fiction's ) Rashomon was artistically portrayed in ways to continuously provoke viewers ' thoughts wittily with the sublime performance by the main characters under magnificent light use within the tensed atmosphere wherever appropriate . The film will suit best the following viewer types : 1 ) Unconventional die-hard moviehead ; 2 ) Film-making school student ; 3 ) Movie critic ; 4 ) Any art house movie lover ; et al From this film and others including Seven Samurai , The Hidden Fortress , Yojimbo , Ran , etc . Kurosawa sensei ( master ) is probably the best conventional director of all time . ( Hontoeni dokomademo Kurosawa Akira sensei no ONE OF THE BESTs , kore ! ) - SP
    • 124 4  After learning about this film I became very interested to watch it . The idea of hearing FOUR different people's observations concerning a murder . What caught my attention was how TRUE TO LIFE the story is . Everything in life is dependent upon how we as individuals interpret situations depending on our different points of view . Just look at AMAZON ! Here we have people voice their opinions on music , movies , books ect . . . And it's all based on our understanding of what we see and hear . I guess we always know this about our society but perhaps we stick it in the back of our heads . It's really amazing if you just sit back and think about it , how events and not only that but our own lives are judged just on how we delineate things . Watch this movie and it will really open your eyes to how our society works . How everything in life is about our view of it . It's just fascinating ! WATCH IT AND SEE
    • 130 4  RASHOMON was a groundbreaking film for its time , one that called into question whether or not we can really know the truth behind anything since everyone's viewpoint is limited to their own subjective personality . The film recounts the same incident from different viewpoints , taking a bold narrative approach that would greatly influence filmmakers for several years , even up to this very day . While I feel there are some parts of the film that don't hold up very well , overall the movie has a very powerful effect at the end as everything finally comes to a head . For some interesting comparisons to RASHOMON , I would suggest the Paul Newman flick , THE OUTRAGE ( 1964 ) , and Italian director Mario Bava's ultra-rare obscurity , FOUR TIMES THAT NIGHT ( 1969 ) , which puts a campy , erotic spin on the material .

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